Washington – Efforts to stem America’s appetite for oil, nearly two-thirds of it imported, are getting new attention in Congress with a push from a coalition of environmentalists, evangelical Christians and conservatives.
The diverse groups are putting pressure on lawmakers to find ways to curtail oil use. Environmentalists hope to reduce pollution and the risk of climate change. Conservatives and others say the dependence on oil imports poses a security threat.
Liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans in Congress are listening.
A bipartisan group of senators unveiled legislation Wednesday that they said would save 2.5 million barrels of oil a day within a decade and 10 million barrels a day by 2031. The country uses a little more than 20 million barrels of oil a day.
The legislation would include tax breaks and loan guarantees to get automakers to switch from producing gas guzzlers to gas- electric hybrids, advanced diesel or other alternative technologies.
It also includes new tax breaks for those who buy such vehicles for fleets, and incentives for developing alternative fuels such as ethanol from cellulosic bio mass, research into use of lightweight material in cars, and promotion of mass-transit corridors.
Joining Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., and Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., as co-sponsors were Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., and GOP Sens. Sam Brownback of Kansas, Lindsay Graham of South Carolina, and Norm Coleman of Minnesota.
