Senate Approves $18 Million for Biofuels Research

September 11, 2000

The Senate has approved $18 million for bio-energy research legislation that was sponsored by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-IN). The appropriation will fund the research and development necessary to bring to market an affordable form of biomass ethanol that could replace a substantial portion of the U.S. gasoline which is now refined from OPEC oil.

"The increasing price of oil is a foreign policy problem that shocks us every time we go to the gas pump," said Lugar. "A short-term fix is not enough. We must develop a long-term strategy to stop foreign oil from future de-stabilization of the American economy. This funding will help accelerate recent advances in science and engineering for producing fuels and chemicals from living plants that are a renewable alternative to fossil fuels.

"We can change time-worn assumptions about oil markets. By replacing as little as 10% of oil imports with domestically produced biofuels and biochemicals produced from plants, America will diversify its energy portfolio and reap enormous economic, strategic and environmental benefits," Lugar said.

Funding for Lugar's legislation was included in the Energy and Water Appropriations bill that passed the Senate.