Washington - Tonight, the Senate passed an Energy Bill that makes landmark improvements in areas like auto fuel efficiency standards and energy efficiency. The final version of the bill, however, did not include the original provisions to take away oil industry subsidies in order to pay for renewable energy tax credits after Senate Republicans blocked a previous version earlier today.
Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), a member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee who championed several provisions in the bill including energy efficiency block grants for cities, released the following statement:
"This bill includes some of the bold and innovative steps it will take to help wean our country off of its dependence on oil, clean the air we breathe and respond to our planetary emergency. Because of the majority's commitment to making this a more energy efficient nation, our cars will have better gas mileage and our appliances will consume less energy. I had hoped that instead of taxpayer money for oil companies, this bill would have included the tax credits for renewable energy, but Republicans chose to defend the oil industry at the peril of everything else positive that this bill has to offer. That decision is wildly out of touch with the priorities of the American people, and I will work to revisit and reverse that issue in the near future."
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