Issue Position: Moving Beyond Oil

Issue Position

Issue Position: Moving Beyond Oil

Moving Beyond Oil
America is facing a serious energy crisis. As Rhode Islanders pay high prices at the gas pump and to heat their homes, oil and natural gas company profits are skyrocketing. Our country is frighteningly dependent on foreign sources of energy, often from countries that do not have America's best interests at heart. We need a long-term American energy strategy that promotes renewable energy sources and improved energy efficiency.

Since joining the Senate, I am proud to have supported the most progressive and comprehensive energy reforms that Congress has passed in years. We've raised fuel economy standards for cars and trucks for the first time in over 20 years, set tough new energy efficiency standards for appliances in homes and workplaces, and mandated a dramatic increase in production and use of renewable fuels - saving money for consumers and helping protect our precious environment from the harmful effects of expanded fossil fuel exploration.

But there is much more to do. We should repeal the billions of dollars in tax breaks for big oil and direct that money to help reduce consumer energy costs, including through investments in new clean energy technologies. Instead of giving tax breaks for oil companies, we should create tax incentives to promote investment in residential and commercial energy efficiency initiatives, in large-scale wind, solar and other renewable energy projects, and in new vehicle technology such as plug-in hybrid cars. And we need to do more to assure the integrity of energy markets, and curb price-gouging, manipulation, and speculation to prevent artificial price increases.

High gas prices and heating oil bills strain our families' budgets and leave too many Rhode Islanders struggling to make ends meet. I will do all I can to support a new American energy policy that will save consumers money, protect our environment from the effects of climate change, create jobs, and take advantage of Americans' natural gift for innovation and entrepreneurship to make us a world leader in the new clean energy economy.

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