"We have a big decision to make. We have two paths we
can pursue. We can continue to allow our energy needs to hamstring our
national security. We can continue to watch as the impacts of global
warming mount. We can sit back and wait for the terrible potential of a
terrorist attack to hit a pipeline, to hit a terminal, wreaking havoc on
the economy and increasing energy costs for families and businesses. Or we
can choose a different, better path based on performance and the facts -
not partisanship and ideology. We can choose a path based on a long-term
strategy to secure our economy, to free our hand to protect our security,
and to keep faith with our values," Senator Clinton said.
"We can and we must meet this challenge head on,"
Senator Clinton emphasized. "As a nation, it is time we take the giant
leap in energy innovation we desperately need and that is exactly what the
Strategic Energy Fund will do."
Senator Clinton's legislation will create a Strategic
Energy Fund to help pay for the clean energy transition. The legislation
eliminates oil company tax breaks and ensures that they pay their fair
share of royalties for drilling on public lands. The legislation also
places a temporary fee on major oil company profits that exceed a
2000-2004 profit baseline. The fee would be in place for two years, and
companies could offset their fee by investing in alternative energy
technologies such as ethanol and wind power. The Strategic Energy Fund
would raise $50 billion to fund research, development and deployment of
energy technologies that will reduce
America's oil dependence and greenhouse gas emissions. The Strategic
Energy Fund will:
• Deliver Clean Coal Technology. $3.5 billion in tax
incentives and grants to build 5 clean coal plants that can capture and
store carbon dioxide and reduce global warming.
• Invest in Renewable Energy. Move
America towards the goal of producing 25 percent of electricity from
renewable sources by extending the production tax credit for generating
electricity from wind and other renewable sources for five years.
• Transform
America's Vehicles. Put more efficient vehicles on the road by quadrupling
consumer tax breaks for hybrids, clean diesel, and other advanced
vehicles, creating incentives for auto manufacturers to retool their
facilities, and putting $500 million towards advanced battery research to
speed development of "plug-in" hybrid vehicles.
• Accelerate Homegrown Biofuels. Extend the ethanol
tax credit until 2012, and speed the development of cellulosic ethanol by
providing loan guarantees for the first billion gallons of commercial
production capacity, and providing $2 billion for research.
• Improve Efficiency. Increase incentives to make
homes and offices more comfortable and cheaper to operate by improving
energy efficiency.
• Unleash American Ingenuity. Accelerate energy
research by creating a $9 billion "Advanced Research Projects Agency" for
energy.
Senator Clinton's announcement comes on heels of her
tour yesterday highlighting innovative energy initiatives underway in
New York. In spotlighting these initiatives,
Senator Clinton emphasized that the federal government should step forward
to help expand and jumpstart efforts to pursue cleaner forms of energy.
"What we are proving in
New York is that the energy challenge is not a
zero sum game," said Senator Clinton. "By pursuing these opportunities, we
can grow the economy and shrink our dependence on foreign oil. We can slow
global warming and speed the creation of good new jobs. We can protect our
security and protect our environment."
In
Rochester, New York, Senator Clinton unveiled a "Greenprint"
developed by local leaders and the U.S. Green Building Council. The
Greenprint is a roadmap for
Rochester to become a leader in energy efficiency and green design, and to
continue creating jobs in energy technologies like fuel cells. Senator
Clinton toured a facility in
Tonawanda,
New York, where plans are underway to make it the first coal
plant in the
United States to use next-generation clean-coal technology to sequester
and store carbon dioxide. She also visited a biofuels facility in Volney,
New York, which is turning an old shuttered brewery into
New York's first ethanol plant. The plant will be
the largest in the Northeast, delivering 100 permanent new jobs, hundreds
of opportunities in construction, and countless more new jobs indirectly,
all the while helping us make the switch from foreign oil to homegrown,
farm-grown energy.
Other information
relating to Clinton and Environment go to:
http://www.senate.gov/~clinton/issues/environment/
Download the PDF of Clinton's Plans:
