RE: Support legislation that will really address the energy crunch

Dear Senator ,

I urge you to cosponsor S.2025, the Vehicles and Fuel Choices for American Security Act. By first setting aggressive targets for reducing the nation's oil use, and combining an effective mix of vehicle technology and alternative fuel credits with efficiency standards for heavy-duty vehicles and tires, this legislation is a common sense step towards solving one of the most difficult challenges we face as a nation.

Despite skyrocketing gas prices, growing concerns with U.S. energy security, and global warming pollution that comes from burning fossil fuels, we have not take action to reduce our oil consumption. The U.S. economy is bleeding--three-quarters of a billion dollars leave our country each day in exchange for imported oil. Ruining the Arctic Wildlife Refuge is no solution! Congress must act now to begin reducing the nation's oil use.

S. 2025 establishes targets for saving oil--as opposed to burning it--beginning with a 2.5 million barrel a day reduction in demand within 10 years, which is about what we import from the Middle East today. The bill also assigns roles and responsibilities to specific government agencies, and includes deadlines and requirements to adjust the plan if it looks like it will fall short of the targets. The legislation takes three vital steps toward energy security: using oil far more efficiently, giving consumers more vehicle and fuel choices, and promoting investments in mass transit programs.

The first step, efficiency, is vital, particularly in the transportation sector, which accounts for two-thirds of U.S. oil demand and is 97 percent oil-dependent. Simply requiring fuel-efficiency standards for replacement tires would reduce gasoline consumption by as much as 3 percent. And there are many other small savings that, if added up, will reduce our oil bill to the tune of billions.

The second step is to increase fuel choice by moving the country en masse toward plug-in hybrids and flexible-fuel vehicles. Plug-in hybrids which, unlike standard hybrids, can draw charge not only from the engine and captured braking energy, but also from America's electrical grid, are particularly appealing since only 2 percent of U.S. electricity is generated from oil. If, by 2025, all cars on the road are flexible fuel hybrids and half of the hybrids are plug-ins, U.S. oil imports could drop by over 10 million barrels per day, which is about what we import today.

The final step is to boost transit investments. The use of public transportation now saves us almost 125,000 barrels of oil a day. But if we increased reliance on public transportation to the level of Canada, we would save more oil than we import from Saudi Arabia every six months.

We do not need to wait for technological breakthroughs, invest billions in research and development or embark on a massive infrastructure change to make major strides to energy independence. The technology and know-how are waiting to be utilized. Please cosponsor S.2025 to protect our national security, our economy and our environment.

Most Sincerely,

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