Pelosi Statement on President’s Commitment to Energy Independence

Pelosi Statement on President’s Commitment to Energy Independence

Friday, February 3, 2006

Contact: Brendan Daly/Jennifer Crider, 202-226-7616

Washington, D.C. â€" House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today in response to comments by Samuel Bodman, Secretary of Energy, that the President’s remarks in the State of the Union address on oil dependency should not be taken literally:

â€Å"In his State of the Union address, President Bush suggested he wants to join House Democrats in decreasing U.S. dependency on Middle Eastern oil. If the President were serious, he would immediately repudiate comments since made by his Secretary of Energy, Samuel Bodman that the President’s remarks should not be taken literally. The American people want to know, ‘what is the truth, Mr. President â€" what you said in the State of the Union on Tuesday or what your Energy Secretary said the very next day?

â€Å"The truth is, a literal commitment is exactly what America needs as we face the crisis of energy dependence. House Democrats believe we should be spending our energy dollars in the Midwest, not the Middle East. That’s why we have proposed the development of clean, sustainable energy alternatives, such as bio-based fuels, as well as new engine technologies for flex-fuel, hybrid, and bio-diesel cars and trucks. To accelerate this work, we also have proposed a new initiative within the Department of Energy, modeled after DARPA, that develops high-risk, high-reward, revolutionary energy technologies.

â€Å"President Bush has a real opportunity to indicate the depth of his commitment to energy independence when he releases his budget on Monday. We hope the President will be joining us, with a real budgetary commitment and not mixed signals, to work for solutions.”