Op-Ed

To Solve Oil Crisis, Make Cars
That Need Less of It - Eliot Engel

"America is addicted to oil,” was the tag line of this year’s State of the Union speech. We continue to hear a lot of rhetoric from the Bush administration, but no real solutions to lower gas prices for the American consumer. Instead of writing legislation to benefit the oil companies, it’s time to create a commitment to alternative energy sources, which will reduce our demand for oil and lower prices at the pump.

There is a bill in Congress that can make a difference. Congressman Jack Kingston (R-GA) and I have introduced the Fuel Choices for American Security Act which has a real plan to reduce our dependence on oil. This act mandates 2.5 million barrels in oil savings in 10 years and encourages mass production of cars that can burn alternative fuels or have hybrid engines. Since Fuel Choices promotes alternative fuels and more efficient use of oil, it will ultimately drive down the demand for oil and lower our gas prices.

Anyone who drives a car and fills a gas tank knows that the big oil companies are ripping them off. Already, we consume nearly 21 million barrels of oil per day, every day, and our appetite is increasing. Today, the American economy demands over 25 percent of global oil production while our known oil reserves make up only 3 percent of global supply.

Being dependent on a single, finite, and pollution-causing fuel might only be an economic or environmental problem if it were not for the fact that we must import over 60 percent of our oil (over 12 million barrels per day), and much of that from nations that are unstable, unfriendly or outright hostile. Whether it’s the kidnappings in Nigeria’s oil fields, the rampant corruption in Russia, the war in Iraq or the nuclear standoff with Iran, when it comes to oil, America has few good options.

The domestic oil picture is not much brighter. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast, shutting down oil platforms, pipelines, ports and refineries accounting for nearly one-quarter of our domestic supply and much of our capacity for distributing imports.

While we cannot drill our way out of oil dependency, there is an answer that is good for the American economy, our environment and national security – The Fuel Choices for American Security Act. By adopting vehicle technologies available today, such as the ability to use different types of fuels in cars, gas-electric and plug-in hybrid cars, and rapidly expanding the use and availability of fuels made from abundant or renewable resources, such as ethanol made from corn or other natural materials, America could begin to wean itself from its oil addiction.

Our bipartisan legislation outlines a bold plan to reduce oil consumption and expand the fuel and vehicle choices of the American consumer. If your car had the option of using at least one fuel in addition to gasoline, our economy would be stronger, our environment cleaner, our country safer and our addiction broken. Oil would have less power over our economy as we would have expanded choices of domestic fuels — and with homegrown choices comes competition in the marketplace, lower prices at the pump, and greater security abroad.

The future is not merely about what we drive as it is about what we put in what we drive and the fuel choices that we have.

Engel, who represents the 17th Congressional District, is the lead Democrat on the Fuel Choices for American Security Act, the chair and cofounder of the Oil and National Security Caucus, and sits on the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy.

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