T. Boone Pickens today released the following statement in response to resolutions issued by the U.S. Conference of Mayors calling for the enactment of the New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions Act (NAT GAS Act: H.R. 1835, S. 1408).
“The U.S. Conference of Mayors added another layer of bipartisan support for the increased use of natural gas as a transportation fuel, issuing a resolution calling for the enactment of the NAT GAS Act. I applaud this group for recognizing the many benefits of using natural gas in transportation, including that it is cleaner, cheaper and can stimulate jobs and the economy. The United States is wasting billions of dollars each month on foreign oil and the U.S. Conference of Mayors sees the NAT GAS Act as a solution to embrace our own natural resource and keep that money right here in our country.
“America is still waiting for the energy plan it is has been promised for more than 40 years. But no energy plan will be complete unless it focuses on transportation, which is 70 percent of our foreign oil problem. I’m for American resources, and natural gas in heavy duty fleet applications leads the way in using a clean, abundant and domestic resource to replace dirty foreign oil.
“As President Obama continues to stress his commitment to achieving an energy plan with bipartisan support, the U.S. Conference of Mayors is proof that this initiative has widespread acceptance among Republicans and Democrats. Congress should follow this bipartisan group’s lead and pass legislation that encourages the greater use of natural gas as a transportation fuel in heavy duty and fleet vehicles.”
The U.S. Conference of Mayors’ resolution pertaining to natural gas is included below.
AMERICA’S CLEAN, DOMESTIC, AND AFFORDABLE URBAN TRANSPORTATION SOLUTION
WHEREAS, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the transportation sector accounts for 69 percent of United States oil consumption; and
WHEREAS, natural gas is cleaner and cheaper than gasoline and diesel; and
WHEREAS, 98 percent of natural gas consumed in the United States is produced in North
America; and
WHEREAS, recent shale discoveries and technology developments are increasing the American
supply of natural gas, creating more than 100 years of supply abundance ; and
WHEREAS, natural gas vehicles utilization is growing exponentially in Europe, South
America, and in other global markets; and
WHEREAS, passage of current federal natural gas vehicle legislation would stimulate market expansion, economic growth, and support the buying and using natural gas vehicles over a short time period so that national economies of scale will develop. Furthermore, legislation should be focused on the high fuel-use and high pollution vehicle fleets such as trash trucks, transit buses, semi-trucks, school buses, urban delivery and distribution vehicles, and shuttle buses;
WHEREAS, the diversification of transportation fuel sources would help the United States meet rapidly growing domestic and global energy demands, reduce the United States’ dependency on oil imported from foreign countries, stabilize the cost and availability of energy in America, safeguard the economy and security of the United States, and facilitate the future growth of hydrogen vehicle transportation foundation by building out natural gas fueling corridors across our country,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the U.S. Conference of Mayors adopts as its policy on Climate Protection, Energy Independence and the Energy Block Grant called for by the mayors in the National Metro Agenda for America to urge the President and Congress to accelerate the following leadership policy initiatives:
• Enact the New Alternative to Give Americans Solutions (NAT GAS) Act (S. 1408,
H.R. 1835) or relevant provisions within other federal legislation
• Enact The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users Act’s (Pub. L. No. 109-59, § 11113) provision that provides a tax credit of 50-cent per gasoline-gallon-equivalent of CNG or liquid gallon of LNG for the sale of CNG and LNG for use as a motor vehicle fuel.
• Expand federally funded Research, Development, and Demonstration (RD&D) programs to expand product offerings of natural gas engines to meet a wider range of applications in the United States transportation sector