A Letter from Senator Bob Corker (R)Tennessee

Dear Don,

Thank you for taking the time to contact my office to share your concerns about the bipartisan energy working group called the Gang of 10 and the New Energy Reform Act of 2008. Your input is important to me, and I appreciate the time you took to share your thoughts. On June 26, I joined 43 of my Republican colleagues in introducing the Gas Price Reduction Act, a balanced piece of legislation that increases domestic supply through deep sea exploration from the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and use of domestic oil shale, decreases the use of gasoline by investing in advanced vehicles, and strengthens the U.S. energy futures markets to ensure manipulation is not occurring by requiring greater transparency and oversight. Unfortunately, in the current climate in Washington it would be close to impossible to garner the Democrat support needed to pass any such legislation. My interest since coming to the Senate has been to pass meaningful legislation that will lower energy prices and increase our country's energy security. For that reason I joined with four other Republican senators and five Democrat senators to draft a bill that could actually have a chance of garnering the 60 votes needed to pass the Senate. The measure contains three major components: targeted, responsible domestic production of energy resources; an intensive effort to transition vehicles to non-petroleum based fuels; and a robust federal commitment to conservation and energy efficiency. Unfortunately there is a lot of completely disingenuous information being disseminated about the energy proposal myself and the "Gang of 10" introduced earlier this month. This is Washington at its worst. In reality, the New Energy Reform Act is a strong production bill that opens up new areas for domestic drilling and at the same time encourages the construction of new nuclear plants, provides tax incentives for Americans who purchase fuel efficient vehicles, and boosts the development and production of coal-to-liquid fuel.The Gulf of Mexico is where the oil is. It is also where the pipelines and refineries are located. In order to take advantage of these resources, our legislation would IMMEDIATELY open portions of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico for oil and natural gas exploration and would require all new production to be sold here at home. We also would give Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia the opportunity to permit oil exploration along the OCS 50 miles from shore. By lifting federal drilling bans in these areas, we would expand access to known domestic oil and gas reserves, sending an important signal to the oil markets that will change expectations and put downward pressure on prices. Recognizing that oil will is a bridge to the future while we pursue additional means of energy security, our proposal also contains strong incentives to spur the growth of nuclear power, a source of electricity that must be a vital component of this country's clean energy future. In addition, our bill decreases demand for energy, particularly for oil, by transitioning our cars and trucks to new technologies such as electric vehicles, hybrids, and alternative fuels. I believe our plan contains the elements necessary to pass an energy bill whether this fall or in the next congress, and I hope it will be a centerpiece of discussion when Congress returns in September.Thank you again for your letter. I hope you will continue to share your thoughts with me.

Sincerely, Bob Corker(R)

United States Senator ~ Tennessee

Editorial : I want to say a lot, but, You be the judge as to who is being honest and who isn`t ? Just be sure you do not vote for Lamar Alexander !