WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In response to President Bush’s speech in St. Louis, Missouri, today on energy policy, Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA), a senior Democratic Member of both the House Energy and Commerce and Resource Committee released a statement on the Bush Administration’s reliance on rhetoric instead of real action to reduce dependence on foreign oil.  For the past 5 years, Rep. Markey, along with Rep. Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), has been the chief sponsor of bills and Floor amendments to require meaningful increases in fuel economy standards for all cars and SUVs.

“While biofuels have great promise, they are only part of the solution to the problem of America’s increasing dependence on imported oil.  Unless we mandate stronger fuel economy standards, biofuels by themselves will not be effective in helping us curb America’s dependence on imported oil from the Middle East.   Unfortunately, the President again failed to announce any new initiatives to improve motor vehicle fuel efficiency standards today.”

“Ethanol costs more to make and costs more to buy than gasoline, and billions of dollars worth of research and development is needed to produce significant quantities of ethanol cost- and energy-effectively.  Right now, ethanol isn’t even widely available because there are only about 700 gas stations in the country where consumers can buy it. Even if our country pursues an aggressive ethanol development and deployment plan, ethanol will not be able to reduce our oil consumption nearly as quickly or as nearly much as raising fuel economy standards.”

“The President’s energy speech failed to articulate an effective vision for curbing America’s oil addiction.   Democrats will ensure that America moves in a new direction to develop alternative fuels like ethanol, and deploy new technologies that make our cars and SUVs much more energy efficient.”

For more information on Rep. Markey’s work please visit: http://markey.house.gov