Jun 22, 2005 (From the CalCars-News archive)
(Please Forward Widely) ACTION ALERT: Help Lobby Key Senators for Oil Security Amendment including PHEVs
As we described yesterday in "Senate Centrist Coalition Backing Plug-in Hybrids" http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/calcars-news/message/71 today is the day to make your voice heard.
Your immediate support is needed to lobby the Senate ASAP to support near-term Clean-Car solutions that will tackle National Security, Jobs and Global Warming at the same time. All you need to do is take 15 minutes and make several phone calls and/or send faxes, to key targeted Senators listed below (and kindly forward this to encourage those in your networks to do so as well).
We will all be asking these key Senators to vote Yes on a crucial new "Oil Security" floor amendment to the Senate Energy Bill, being introduced Thursday, June 22 by Senators Bayh, Lieberman and Salazar. (Other co-sponsors are expected to step forward tomorrow as well).
This vital amendment will advance energy independence through several near-term petroleum reduction technologies that are not currently in the Energy Bill. (These proposals originated from the bipartisan Set America Free coalition http://www.setamericafree.org, of which I am an avid supporter.)
Of particular importance are the amendment's plug-in hybrid-electric vehicle provisions. As you know from the work of the California Cars Initiative (http://www.calcars.org) and others, these next step clean cars offer very large additional petroleum reductions compared to gasoline-only hybrids (like the increasingly popular Toyota Prius). Our Senators need to know that Plug-In Hybrid prototypes get 100 miles to the gallon or more using today's technologies! Widespread adoption would cut America's dependence on oil from the volatile Middle East by millions of barrels a day. Vehicles getting 500 MPG of gasoline (with the rest coming from electricity and biofuels like cellulose ethanol) are feasible using existing technology.
The Oil Security amendment also includes other important provisions for advanced bio-fuel vehicles, flex fuel vehicles, and truck stop electrification (which cuts diesel emissions from idling trucks by substituting a far cleaner plug-in option).
All of these approaches are needed to end our current single sourcing (America's transportation sector is currently 97% dependent on petroleum). This a national security issue as well as a hidden drag on our economy given record breaking high oil prices that help support terrorist friendly regimes. In addition, transportation emissions constitute over 30% of America's greenhouse gas emissions, making clean-cars solutions central to fighting global warming as well as air pollution that is causing unprecedented increases in asthma.
The newly proposed "Oil Security" amendment focuses on research, development and demonstration (RD&D) to advance these key clean tech solutions. The amendment may also establish future tax credits to incentivize manufacturers to build advanced hybrid and advanced diesel vehicles, as well as tax credits for those undertaking advanced bio-fuel vehicle and infrastructure development projects.
Your phone calls and faxes are needed IMMEDIATELY to the targeted Senators listed below!
Support is developing from both sides of the aisle, so this key amendment stands a good shot at adoption on the Senate floor. But we have to get out votes from more Democrats and Republicans. In the process we will be educating even reluctant Senators that Americans in both parties are serious and "get it" about the need to advance clean car technologies to help our Country become more energy independent, faster to improve our national security and economy/jobs.
MAKING YOUR CALLS (OR SENDING FAXES) IS EASY:
Ask to speak to the energy policy staffer if possible. Otherwise, simply say you want to register an opinion on an Energy Bill Amendment (as follows): -----------
" I ask the Senator to support the "oil security" floor amendment to the Senate Energy Bill (S. 10) just introduced by Senators Lieberman, Salazar and Bayh. This important amendment supports several key near-term petroleum reduction technologies not in the current bill. I join the bipartisan Set America Free Coalition in being particularly excited about the amendment's plug-in hybrid electric vehicle provisions. Plug-in hybrids can get over 100 miles per gallon using today's technologies, thus offering very large additional petroleum reductions compared to the current increasingly popular hybrids.
The Oil Security amendment also includes other excellent provisions furthering advanced bio-fuel and flex-fuel vehicle development, as well as truck stop electrification to reduce diesel emissions from idling trucks.
All these clean-tech solutions will help America reduce its current 97% dependence on oil for transportation fuel. This is important to our national security issue as well as to stop the hidden drag on our economy caused by today's record breaking oil prices. These clean tech solutions will also create high wage, high tech jobs America needs. I urge the Senator to support this sensible Oil Security amendment." ----------------------------------
AN EVEN BETTER CHOICE IS FAXING A WRITTEN REQUEST (nothing gets garbled): Kindly take a few moments to craft a faxable letter personalizing the above text (using info from the attached fact sheets), then fax it to each/all of the Senators' fax numbers provided below. You can include at the top: "To: The Senator's Energy Policy Staff" and "Re: Request That The Senator Support the Oil Security Amendment to the Energy Bill (S. 10)"
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Below are two priority lists of Senators we need to reach in large numbers by phone and fax ASAP The first lists priority Democratic Senators, and the second lists key Republican Senators to reach.
A. Democratic Senators to reach -- the first five are the most important
1) Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia)
202 224-3954
Fax 202 228-0002
2) Kent Conrad (D-North Dakota)
202 224-2043
Fax 202 224-7776
3) Byron Dorgan (D-North Dakota)
202 224-2251
Fax 202 224-1193
4) Mark Pryor (D-Arkansas)
202 224-2353
Fax 202 228-0908
5) Max Baucus (D-Montana)
202 224-2651
Fax 202 224-0515
6) Any other Dems/Indeps from the Centrist Coalition
-- Tom Carper (D-Delaware) 202 224-244; Fax 202 228-2190
-- Dianne Feinstein (D-California) 202 224-3841; Fax 202 228-3954
-- Jim Jeffords (I-Vermont) 202 224-5141; Fax 202 228-0776
-- Herb Kohl (D-Wisconsin) 202 224-5653; Fax 202 224-9787
-- Mary Landrieu (D-Louisiana) 202 224-5824; Fax 202 224-9787
-- Blanche Lincoln (D-Arkansas) 202 224-4843; Fax 202 228-1373
-- Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) 202 224-6651; Fax 202 228-0012
-- Bill Nelson (D-Florida) 202 224-5274; Fax 202 228-2183
7) Any other Democrats with whom you have contacts (other than the sponsors Bayh, Salazar and Lieberman -- this is about getting out ALL our votes!).
B. Key Republican Senators to contact (the first 6 are the most important to reach)
1) Jeff Sessions (R - Alabama)
202 224-4124
fax 202 224-3149
2) Bob Bennett (R - Utah)
202 224-5444
fax 202 228-1168
3) Olympia Snowe (R - Maine)
202 224-5344
Fax 202 224-1946
4) Rick Santorum (R - Pennsylvania)
202 224-5024
fax 202 224-0604
5) Orrin Hatch (R-Utah)
202 224-5251
Fax 202 224-6331
6) Chuck Hagel (R-Nebraska)
202 224-4224
Fax 224-5213
7) other Republicans on the Centrist Coalition to target:
-- Susan Collins (R-Maine) 202 224-2523; Fax 202 224-2693
-- Judd Gregg (R-New Hampshire) 202 224-3324; Fax 202 224-4952
-- John McCain (R-Arizona) 202 224-2235; Fax 202 228-2862
-- John Sununu (R-New Hampshire) 202 224-2841; Fax 202 228-4131
-- George Voinovich (R-Ohio) 202 224-3353; Fax 202 228-0012
8 ) all other Republicans with whom you may have a contact.
TIPS:
You do not need to be from the Senator's State or a member of the same party to be an effective lobbyist. However, if you are, be sure to say so.
Also if you know people from any of the targeted Senator's states, consider forwarding them this email with a request that they at least contact THEIR Senator(s) as listed.
We particularly need calls to the listed Republican Senators, given that gaining majority support requires at least 6 Republican Senators' votes, even if ALL the Democrats/Independent vote Yes.
REPORTING BACK: If you want to report back to me the results of your contacts, that would be most appreciated.
Thanks in advance for whatever you can do to help the important cause of energy independence!
