Lieberman Lauds Second Senate Victory for Energy Security in a Single Week

Press Release

Lieberman Lauds Second Senate Victory for Energy Security in a Single Week

Senator Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) today lauded the Senate's approval Thursday night of a measure he wrote with Senators Ken Salazar (D-CO), Evan Bayh (D-IN), San Brownback (R-KS), and Norm Coleman (R-MN) to reduce the oil dependence of the nation's transportation sector by increasing its use of electricity, which the U.S. generates primarily with domestic energy sources. Earlier this week, the Senate approved another measure written by the same Senators to require the Executive Branch to publish and implement a plan for reducing U.S. oil use by 10 million barrels-per-day - approximately half of current consumption - over the next 25 years. Both measures now have been adopted as amendments to H.R. 6, The CLEAN Energy Act of 2007.

The measure approved Thursday night is called the DRIVE Electric Amendment. It forms part of legislation reintroduced by Lieberman in January called the Dependence Reduction through Innovation in Vehicles and Energy (DRIVE) Act.

"The more we power our cars, trucks, trains, and ships with electricity, the less dependent we will be on foreign oil," said Lieberman. "Powering our vehicles with electricity also releases far less pollution into the environment than powering them with oil does."

The DRIVE Electric Amendment would authorize $125 million for several new U.S. Energy Department programs designed to accelerate the commercial deployment of plug-in hybrid electric cars and trucks, electric locomotives, plug-in truck stops and ports for tractor-trailers and ships, and electric utility vehicles at airports.

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