Foxx Presses Congress to Vote on Coal-to-Liquid Bill

Press Release

Foxx presses Congress to vote on coal-to-liquid bill

Signs ‘discharge petition' to bring legislation up for debate

Congresswoman Virginia Foxx today called on Congress to bring coal-to-liquid legislation to the House floor for a vote. She pressed members of the House of Representatives on both sides of the aisle to allow debate on a bipartisan bill (H.R. 2208) that creates incentives for the production of diesel fuel from coal.

"America has a 250 year supply of coal," Foxx said. "We should be doing all we can to find a way to transform this abundant energy resource into clean burning diesel. This legislation will jumpstart the debate on coal-to-liquid technology and would encourage new investment in a promising source of American-made energy."

Foxx today joined more than 100 members of the House of Representatives who signed onto a measure called a discharge petition that would bring the Coal Liquid Fuel Act (H.R. 2208) up for a vote. The petition needs 218 Congressional signatures in order to get the Coal Liquid Fuel Act onto the House floor for debate.

"Sky-high gas prices mean Congress needs an 'all of the above' approach to our energy problems," Foxx said. "North Carolina families would benefit from projects like coal to liquid, wind energy, new domestic oil supplies or solar power—anything that can reduce our dependence on foreign sources of oil and bring down the cost of gas."

The Coal Liquid Fuel Act has been stalled in a House committee for more than 14 months. It would sanction government-backed loans for coal to liquid programs and encourage new investment in coal to liquid research and production. Coal to liquid technology turns coal into sulfur-free diesel fuel and promises to help offset the more than 400,000 barrels of diesel fuel imported by the U.S. each day.

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