Response from Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr.

Thank you for taking the time to contact me regarding the Pickens Plan. I appreciate hearing from all Pennsylvanians about the issues that matter most to them.

I applaud T. Boone Pickens for offering solutions designed to help our Nation secure its energy independence. As your U.S. Senator, I continue to work on a bipartisan basis to develop policies that will move us closer to this goal while also protecting our economy and national security and helping Pennsylvania families cope with rising energy prices. I agree with Mr. Pickens that any forward-thinking energy strategy must provide for a diversity of reliable energy sources, including alternative and renewable sources such as wind and solar power. I supported the Renewable Fuels Standard that was included in the Energy Independence and Security Act that Congress passed on December 18, 2007 (P.L. 110-140) which calls for 36 billion gallons of domestic biofuels production by 2022. I am pleased that Congress has also succeeded in providing significant production and investment tax credits for renewable energy as part of H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-343). These policies help our Nation secure its energy independence while strengthening the domestic market for clean energy technologies.

In addition to renewable sources, I'm carefully considering the role that fossil fuels like oil, coal, oil shale and natural gas should play in our national energy portfolio. When the price of crude oil topped $145 a barrel in the summer of 2008, many Americans called for increased domestic oil drilling. According the U.S. Department of the Interior, 79% of all known oil reserves on public lands are open for drilling right now. In fact, drilling activity in the United States has increased 361% over the past 7 years. Unfortunately, because we consume 24% of the world's oil while we have only 3% of the world's oil reserves, further increases in domestic drilling will not produce enough oil to lower oil prices that are set on a world market. For these reasons, increased drilling alone will not provide a long-term solution to this serious problem, nor will it provide short-term price relief. You may be interested to know, however, that the laws prohibiting offshore oil drilling in many parts of the Outer Continental Shelf expired on September 30, 2008.

The Senate is sure to consider legislation regarding our Nation's energy policy when it reconvenes for the 111th Congress, which begins in January 2009. As this work continues, please be assured that I will keep your views on the Pickens Plan closely in mind.

Again, thank you for sharing your thoughts with me. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future about this or any other matter of importance to you.

If you have access to the Internet, I encourage you to visit my web site, http://casey.senate.gov. I invite you to use this online office as a comprehensive resource to stay up-to-date on my work in Washington, request assistance from my office or share with me your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you and to Pennsylvania.



Sincerely,
Bob Casey
United States Senator