WASHINGTON – Senators Chuck Grassley and Tim Johnson today introduced legislation that would require each gallon of gasoline sold after 2010 to contain at least 10 percent renewable fuel.
"We have become dangerously reliant on foreign sources of energy. Over the last several years, Congress has been working diligently to show the world we’re serious about becoming energy independent," Grassley said. "Using renewable resources from America’s heartland is one of the best ways to release the stranglehold OPEC and other foreign countries have on our energy needs."
"The time has come for strong action on energy independence," said Johnson, the senior member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. "A critical step in reducing our dependence on foreign oil will be taken when we increase our use of renewable fuels through ‘10x10.’ We worked on this last year. I’m proud to join Senator Grassley again this year to move this bill and grow this industry. "
The Senators said that the 10 x 10 Act is a signal that Congress remains interested and adamant in seeking energy independence by promoting the development of renewable fuels in the United States.
Grassley has long been a champion of renewable fuels. He has led the effort for a Senate resolution calling for a national renewable energy goal of producing 25 percent of the nation’s energy supply from renewable sources by 2025. As Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee Grassley was the lead Senate negotiator to the tax title of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that created a series of incentives for the production of alternative energy, such as wind, ethanol, biodiesel and biomass. He was also a leading proponent of the renewable fuels standard that requires the use of 7.5 billion gallons of ethanol annually by 2012.
Johnson is a strong advocate of moving away from foreign oil. As a senior member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Johnson sponsored the Renewable Fuel Standard amendment establishing the first national renewable fuel standard during the Senate Energy Committee consideration of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Recent efforts include the Biofuels Security Act of 2007, a bill that sets a new renewable fuel standard of 30 billion gallons of ethanol by 2020, and 60 billion gallons by 2030, with the ultimate goal of reducing domestic gasoline consumption.