WALZ CONTINUES FIGHT FOR TRANSFORMATIVE ENERGY LEGISLATION

Bipartisan bill would reinvest $1 trillion from oil royalties into clean energy innovation, conservation, reducing carbon emissions, and putting America on a clear path towards energy independence

For Immediate Release
June 24, 2009

Contact: Meredith Salsbery
507-388-2149

WASHINGTON D.C. —Today, Congressman Tim Walz announced he will continue fighting for the transformative energy legislation he helped write during 2008 with a broad bipartisan coalition of House lawmakers. HR 2227, the American Independence and Clean Energy Act of 2009, an updated version of the bill from the 110^th Congress called the National Conservation, Environment and Energy Independence Act has again been introduced in the House. The bill currently has 28 bipartisan cosponsors, including Minnesotans Tim Walz, Collin Peterson and Erik Paulsen.

“Serious, game-changing investment in renewable energy research, innovation, and implementation is what we need to fix the economic problems caused by using foreign sources of energy that pollute our skies and sap our financial resources. Taking royalties from oil drilling and reinvesting those dollars into clean, renewable energy sources can help decrease harmful carbon emissions and create good jobs here at home. Investing approximately $1 trillion over ten years is the kind of game changing investment I believe will make a difference.”

“One of the things that I admire about the tradition of rural electric co-ops and public municipal utilities is that they are essentially citizen-owned entities. The bipartisan energy bill I’m supporting will help position southern Minnesotans to not only benefit from clean energy research and development, but to potentially own the next generation of clean energy innovation and technology,” concluded Walz.

HR 2227 takes major steps toward U.S. energy independence:

· Expedites offshore drilling of oil and natural gas for domestic use only;

· Keeps what’s produced in America in America: Oil and gas produced offshore cannot be put into the world market— by law.

· Official estimates of offshore oil and natural gas reserves indicate 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

HR 2227 puts our money where our mouth is to fund the development of alternative fuel sources and innovative clean energy technologies:

Leasing revenues and royalties from offshore oil and gas production would provide the first stable, designated funding source for the development of alternative fuels, renewable energy, and for environmental restoration. The approximately $1 trillion investment would be divided up as follows:

· 20% to the Renewable Energy Reserve;

· 5% to the Clean Water Reserve;

· 10% to the Environment Restoration Reserve;

· 8% to the Conservation Reserve;

· 10% to the Clean Coal Technology Deployment Carbon Capture and Sequestration Reserve;

· 5% to the Carbon Free Technology Deployment and Nuclear Energy Reserve;

· 2% to the Lower Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP);

· 10% to the U.S. Treasury; and

· 30% to the adjacent State.

HR 2227 invests in Energy Conservation and our Alternative Energy Future:

· Modifies the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and dedicates revenue to existing conservation and energy research programs including:

· Wind, solar, weatherization, marine & hydrokinetic energy, advanced vehicle development, industrial energy efficiency, geothermal, smart grid technology, carbon capture & storage, natural gas, hydrogen and energy storage

· Extends alternative & renewable energy production and investment tax incentives to 2019.

HR 2227 increases Efficiency and Diversification in our transportation sector:

· The transportation sector accounts for 70% of oil consumed by the U.S.

· Oil fuels 96% of the transportation infrastructure with no readily available substitutes.

· HR 2227 requires the federal government to purchase plug-in hybrids and lay the groundwork for a recharging infrastructure

· It provides loan guarantees for plug-in hybrid battery purchases and creates new tax credits for most fuel efficient vehicles in each class

· It provides $50 billion in loan guarantees for low carbon energy generation units for our electric grid.

Much of this legislation is patterned after a bill created by Rep. Abercrombie and a group of 28 Republic and Democratic House Members including Rep. Walz last summer. Major sections of that bill, which had more than 120 legislative cosponsors, were included in the Democratic Energy Bill approved by the House last September, but blocked by Republicans in the Senate.