House Passes Historic Energy Bill; Congressman Oberstar Helped Craft Landmark Legislation by Staff Writer Appearing in HomeTownSource.com on 2007-12-07. Washington DC – Today (Friday, Dec. 7), the U.S. House of Representatives approved historic legislation to put the United States on the path toward energy independence. As chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Eighth District Congressman Jim Oberstar, D-Minnesota, played a major part in crafting this energy legislation. “This is a landmark bill,” said Oberstar. “It creates more that 2,800 new jobs for Minnesota in new energy technologies like wind energy and bio fuels. This energy bill strengthens our national security by reducing our dependence on foreign oil, and it protects the environment by drastically reducing greenhouse gases.” The legislation also creates alternatives for shipping freight. “Instead of using trucks to move most of our goods, we need to start investing in freight rail and water transportation to move goods,” said Oberstar. The legislation sets aside a total of $200 million for short-line and regional railroads to improve track and infrastructure. Additionally, the energy bill will establish a new program to promote short-sea shipping to move cargo on the Great Lakes and along our sea coasts. Special tax incentives will help vessel owners construct a new class of cargo ships for short-sea shipping. Another key component of the legislation is to make government buildings more energy efficient. Measures to utilize energy-efficient light bulbs and the use of solar power will help reduce energy costs. “The Transportation Committee has jurisdiction over 367 million square feet of federal office space,” said Oberstar. “Those buildings consume $5.8 billion a year in electricity costs. We can start reducing those costs right now.” The cornerstone of the Energy Independence and Security Act is the increase in fuel efficiency of vehicles to 35 miles-per-gallon by 2020. This is the first increase in the Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards (CAFÉ) in a generation and it is supported by environmentalists, labor groups and the automobile industry. Increased auto fuel efficiency will save American families $700 to $1,000 per year at the pump with $22 billion in net annual consumer savings in 2020. In Minnesota, this provision would create 2,800 jobs and save families $414 million at the pump in 2020. • Lowers consumer energy costs. The energy bill requires that 15 percent of our electricity come from renewable sources, saving consumers in Minnesota from $110 million to $180 million in 2020. It also will save consumers $440 billion through landmark new energy efficiency standards through 2030 for a wide range of products, appliances, lighting and buildings. • Creates new jobs. The energy bill will create new jobs with the investment in renewable energy through tax incentives for solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal technologies. In addition, cutting-edge energy research will create good paying jobs in rural communities across the country through a historic commitment to biofuels, training workers for 3 million new “green” jobs over the next 10 years and making small businesses leaders in renewable energy. • Strengthens our national security by reducing oil consumption by more than 4 million barrels a day in 2030, through the CAFE standard and a historic commitment to American-grown bio fuels. • The energy bill will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 35 percent by 2030. “This bipartisan legislation has earned strong support of leaders in the business, labor, faith and environmental communities across the nation. " I hope President Bush will reconsider his threat to veto this legislation, because all Americans have a stake in energy independence and lower energy costs,” said Oberstar.

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