Pelosi to Hubbard: Bipartisan Energy Legislation Addresses White House Concerns
'We have crafted legislation that addresses the areas of concern raised in your letter, and this bipartisan legislation has earned the strong support of leaders in the business, labor, faith, and environmental communities across the nation,' Pelosi wrote in response to correspondence from Mr. Hubbard.
Below is a text of the letter:
December 5, 2007
Mr. Allan B. Hubbard
Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and
Director, National Economic Council
The White House
Washington, D.C.20500
Dear Mr. Hubbard:
Thank you again for your correspondence reiterating the Administration's commitment to work with the Congress to improve America's energy and economic security and to protect the environment.
'The Energy Independence and Security Act' addresses the specific issues you have raised with earlier versions of the legislation:
Our legislation will contain an ambitious national renewable fuel standard that will significantly reduce our dependence on foreign oil;
Our legislation will 'reform and strengthen the fuel economy standard' for cars and trucks, setting a tight goal of 35 miles per gallon as a fleetwide average by 2020;
Our bill will 'increase domestic energy production' by promoting homegrown renewable fuels and domestic renewable energy;
Our bill will not contain specific provisions that would affect our relations with other countries;
Our bill will not impose price controls;
Our bill will not significantly expand the application of Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements.
These decisions address most of the issues you raised with respect to our energy security legislation, although some issues remain.
In keeping with the Congress' strong commitment to 'pay as you go' - no new deficit spending - we pay for our investments in domestic renewable energy resources by closing tax loopholes given to large oil and gas companies at a time that they are reporting record profits.
Our legislation contains a Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) which requires states to derive a percentage of their energy from renewable sources. As you know, more than half the states already have such a Renewable Portfolio Standard. In fact, President Bush signed into law the mandatory RES law in Texas when he served as governor.
Our CAFE automobile efficiency reforms - the first in more than 30 years - take a dramatic step towards freeing us from dependence on foreign fuels, saving American families $700 - $1,000 per year at the pump ($22 billion in net consumer savings in 2020 alone), reducing oil consumption by 1.1 million barrels per day in 2020 (one-half our current Persian Gulf imports), and slashing greenhouse gases equivalent to removing 28 million cars and trucks from the road.
We have crafted legislation that addresses the areas of concern raised in your letter, and this bipartisan legislation has earned the strong support of leaders in the business, labor, faith, and environmental communities across the nation. 'The Energy Independence and Security Act' is a balanced and broadly supported bill that addresses urgent national priorities in a responsible and timely manner. Thank you for your consideration of the major steps we have taken and I very much hope that the President will sign this bipartisan legislation.
Best wishes, Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House