Markey Applauds Obama’s Long-term Vision to Get America Off Foreign Oil

Markey Applauds Obama’s Long-term Vision to Get America Off Foreign Oil Obama Plan Tracks Bi-partisan Legislation Co-authored by Markey

WASHINGTON (March 7, 2012) – Today President Obama laid out another piece of an “All of the Above” energy plan to address the pain consumers are currently feeling at the pump. The plan calls for incentives to deploy electric vehicles and other alternative fuel vehicles and infrastructure through a community-centered strategy similar to the bi-partisan vision laid out by Reps. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Judy Biggert (R-Ill.), Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.), and Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) in the Electric Drive Vehicle Deployment Act (H.R. 1685), which was introduced last May.

This announcement is in addition to the commitment the administration has made to increase the average fuel efficiency of our nation’s vehicles to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. Domestic oil production has also reached an eight year high and is projected to continue growing as the President has made 75 percent of oil and gas resources on public lands and waters available for drilling. As a result, dependence on foreign oil has recently fallen below 50 percent for the first time since 1997.

“The president has laid out a plan to crush the monopoly that Big Oil currently holds over our transportation sector by accelerating the deployment of vehicles that run on electricity, natural gas, and other oil alternatives,” said Rep. Markey, Ranking Member on the House Natural Resources Committee and senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “The louder the saber-rattling from Iran and the more determined Republican presidential hopefuls call for war in the Middle East, the greater the punishment for Americans at the pump. It is time to tell the Middle Eastern ministers running OPEC and oil sheiks funding terror networks that America needs their oil as much as we need their sand.

The president’s plan is similar to the Electric Drive Vehicle Deployment Act, which I introduced last May. This is part of a long-term strategy—along with increased vehicle fuel efficiency and increased domestic production—that will help America get off foreign oil, reduce energy costs for consumers, and move America toward a clean energy future.” The President’s plan calls for a new $1 billion National Community Deployment Challenge to spur deployment of clean, advanced vehicles in communities around the country. It would also improve the current advanced vehicle tax credit for by expanding eligibility for the credit to a broader range of vehicle technologies and increasing the amount from $7,500 to up to $10,000.