Posted 5-13-08

Enzi Pushes for Domestic Energy Production

            Washington, D.C. – Today the U.S. Senate had the opportunity to pass a bill to provide short and long term relief to Americans paying high energy costs according to U.S. Senator Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., but the Senate voted against increasing domestic energy supplies.

            Enzi spoke to his colleagues on the Senate floor today about Wyoming's role in providing more domestic sources of energy and how the proposed amendment, which is identical to the American Energy Production Act, would help the United States with increased energy production. The Senate voted against Amendment #4720 by a vote of 42-56.

            “This amendment recognizes that coal is our nation's most abundant energy source.  It recognizes that coal has been turned into diesel fuel for half a century and it encourages the building of coal–to-diesel facilities in the United States.  The United States is the Saudi Arabia of coal and my home state of Wyoming is the leading coal producer in the United States.  It only makes sense that we use America's most abundant energy source at a time when we all agree that we are too dependent on foreign energy sources,” said Enzi. 

            In addition to improving our domestic energy supply, the amendment, which Enzi co-sponsored, would repeal the net receipt sharing provision included in the Fiscal Year 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act which provided an unfair mineral royalties percentage split to Wyoming. It would also speed up the production of coal-to-gas fuel use, repeal a drilling permit fee that did not guarantee permit processing, expedite refinery building permits and open the Outer Continental Shelf off the shore of states where consent is given and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for environmentally sound drilling.

            “As a senator from Wyoming, I support the idea of developing more alternative energy. I support the use of wind energy and the development of better solar energy technologies.  As my constituents can tell you, Wyoming is an especially good state for wind and we have high solar potential as well. While we need to develop these technologies for the long term, we need all the energy we can get today.

            Before the Senate passed the Dorgan amendment by a vote of 90-1 Enzi commented on the amendment and the message it sends.

            “I expect to see a strong show of support for the Dorgan amendment to suspend the filling of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. If you are worried about roughly 70,000 barrels a day staying off the market for this reserve fill, then you should be outraged that 1 million barrels a day from the ANWR is kept off the market because it was vetoed by President Clinton more than 10 years ago. That is 1 million barrels that we would not need to purchase from South American dictators or 1 million barrels from countries who are friendly to those who wish to destroy the United States.

            “What will Americans say about this vote 10 years from now? Will they say ‘better late than never' because we passed the American Energy Production Act or will they say, ‘you just didn't get it and now look at us suffer for it'?,” said Enzi.

            Enzi will continue to work to pass the American Energy Production Act, S. 2958 that would have a significant impact on Wyoming. More information on S. 2958 plus the text of Enzi's full speech on the Senate floor is available at www.enzi.senate.gov.