Democrats seeks 40% cut in federal energy usage by 2020

Washington (Platts)--3Oct2005

Eighteen US Senate Democrats sent a letter to President Bush Monday
asking him to cut federal energy usage by 40% by 2020. The senators said that
Americans are "unacceptably vulnerable" to oil-supply shocks and price
volatility in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which damaged or
destroyed energy facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.
     "Securing our nation's energy future is among the biggest economic and
national security challenges faced by our generation," the letter said. "The
status quo in which the security of the United States and the vitality of our
domestic economy is left to the whims [of] foreign regimes is simply not an
option." 
     Last week, Bush began urging Americans to conserve energy and on Monday
Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman unveiled a program called "Easy Ways to Save
Energy" urging the public, industrial facilities and the government to
voluntarily conserve.
     MINORITY LEADER REID CALLS BUSH ENERGY-SAVING PLAN 'TOOTHLESS' 
     A news release from the office of Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid
(Democrat-Nevada) called the administration effort "a toothless energy saving
program, with no commitment by the federal government to reduce its own
consumption." 
     The letter said that the government must do more than pay "lip-service"
to conservation and asked the president to set the goal of cutting the
government's usage by 40% in 15 years. Doing so, the letter said, would save
2.7-mil bbl of oil each year.

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