John Kerry Says Energy Policy Fails Americans

John Kerry Says Energy Policy Fails Americans

"Americans will be able to judge the real world success of this energy policy every day at the pump. They won't be fooled."

WASHINGTON - Below is a statement issued today by Senator John Kerry on the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which will be signed into law this afternoon.

"America's energy problems are serious, and the president's energy policy will do almost nothing to solve them. It is another missed opportunity, when politics beats out good policy.

"Instead of reducing our dangerous dependence on oil, protecting our environment and strengthening our economy, this policy gives billions of dollars to the oil, gas and nuclear industries.

"Americans will be able to judge the real world success of this energy policy every day at the pump. They won't be fooled. Washington failed the American people on this one. Whether it's consumers at the pump, troops risking their lives to protect pipelines around the world, businesses struggling to survive or kids breathing dirty air, nearly everyone got the short end of the stick.

"The President's own economists found that this policy will cause foreign oil imports to increase, and it will only have a ‘negligible' impact on gas prices.

"Its greatest failure is that it ignores our dependence on foreign oil and how that entangles us with nations who would do us harm. Today, America spends more than $200,000 per minute on foreign oil - $13 million per hour. We send more than $25 billion a year to the Persian Gulf alone. It's bad enough to think these dollars won't help grow our economy. It's worse to consider how oil money flows to regimes that work against us or do too little to stop hatred and terrorism.

"It's time to tap America's strength - our markets, our invention, our innovation and our values - to control our own destiny. While there are bound to be some good things in a bill this size, this is a missed opportunity. We need to foster an energy revolution that benefits our environment, our economy and our security. This energy policy doesn't even come close."

http://kerry.senate.gov/v3/cfm/record.cfm?id=243483