OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Providing For Natural Gas Vehicle Research And Development

Floor Speech

Date: July 20, 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Technology and Communication Oil and Gas Energy

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Mr. HALL of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1622 to provide for a program of research, development and demonstration on natural gas vehicles. I thank my good friend, Congressman John Sullivan from Oklahoma, for introducing this bill, and I'm very proud to be a cosponsor.

H.R. 1622 authorizes the U.S. Department of Energy to fund natural gas vehicle research, development and demonstration needs on natural gas vehicles to make them even cleaner, even more efficient, and ease their widespread integration into our current transportation system.

Approximately 98 percent of the natural gas we use in America comes from the United States and Canada, and the Energy Information Agency forecasts that, by 2030, over 98 percent of the natural gas used in America will come from the U.S. alone. Because of recent advancements in technology, the economically recoverable U.S. natural gas resource base has nearly doubled in just the last few years. A recent study concludes that we now have 118 years of natural gas resources right here in America. Doesn't it makes sense that we should be using this abundant, domestic resource to help fuel our transportation needs?

Renewable natural gas can also be produced from any organic waste or energy crop such as switchgrass. It has been conservatively estimated that America could produce 1.2 quadrillion Btus of renewable natural gas, also called biomethane. That is the equivalent of 10 billion gallons of gasoline. And if making biomethane from cellulosic energy crops is considered, the potential is just almost limitless.

Natural gas is affordable, it has an existing distribution infrastructure, it is a proven vehicle fuel, and it is clean.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill that will help increase our energy independence by serving to increase the amount of vehicles on our roads that run on domestic natural gas.

With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

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