Senate Approves Energy Bill
Includes Many Lugar Initiatives

Senator Lugar praised Senate passage on Thursday, June 21, of an energy bill that focuses on new sources of energy and conservation to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. The bill includes major provisions initiated by Senator Lugar, including incentives for flexible fuel cars, requirements for greater use of ethanol mixed with petroleum fuels and numerous provisions to promote energy efficiency. 

“This bill goes a long way toward kicking our addiction to oil,” Senator Lugar said. “Our nation cannot sustain the security threat that comes from a dependence on foreign sources of oil. I encourage House passage and Presidential support for this bill as well as more energy initiatives in the future. We must continue to press for action in the energy area.”

The legislation would increase auto fuel efficiency standards for the first time in more than 20 years.  It includes a provision mandating automakers to produce flexible fuel vehicles, which are able to run on E85 ethanol or regular gasoline.  The bill includes a renewable fuel standard (RFS) similar to the Biofuels Security Act, sponsored by Senator Lugar and Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA).  The greatly expanded RFS would guarantee a market for investment in new biofuels production, with special preference to biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol derived from diverse feedstocks like corn stover and switchgrass.

Senator Lugar’s Energy Diplomacy and Security legislation is also included in the bill. It urges the Secretary of State: (1) to establish strategic energy partnerships with the governments of major energy producers and major energy consumers, and with governments of other countries; (2) expand energy emergency preparedness mechanisms; (3) create a regional-based ministerial Hemisphere Energy Cooperation Forum; and (4) integrate energy security priorities into core State Department activities and create a new coordinator for international energy affairs.  The Secretary of State has already been implementing provisions of the legislation.

Most provisions of the Energy Efficiency Promotion section of the bill (Title II) come from legislation that Senator Lugar co-sponsored with Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Pete Domenici (R-NM). This title would reduce our nation's use of fossil fuels by improving the efficiency of vehicles, buildings, home appliances, and industrial equipment. 

Other Senator Lugar provisions include expanding loan guarantees for renewable fuel facilities, studies to improve flexible fuel vehicles and ship biofuels by pipeline, and an assessment of carbon dioxide storage capacity.

Detailed information on Senator Lugar’s energy legislation can be found at the Lugar Energy Initiative Legislation page.

Lugar Addresses Passport Processing Delays

Throughout the month of June, Senator Lugar continued to address the passport processing delays which are affecting Hoosier travel plans.  New requirements instituted in January by the State Department require citizens to have passports when traveling in the Western Hemisphere and have resulted in a huge backlog in passport processing. 

“With a change in law occurring on January 23, 2007, thousands of Americans followed new rules and sought a passport for travel in the Western Hemisphere. However, their honest efforts ran into a bureaucratic system unable to handle the vastly increased demand. In many cases, processing times tripled from past years. This has led to a wave of desperate travelers appealing to Congressional offices for help in salvaging vacations, business trips, and other travel,” said Senator Lugar in a June 19 Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the passport backlog.

“As the passport difficulties mounted over the past three weeks, I tasked a group of my constituent service staff in Indianapolis and Washington, D.C. to assist hundreds of Hoosiers in getting information and, when possible, requesting expedited service on applications.  Passport inquires are now the number one casework concern in my Indiana offices by a wide margin. I anticipate that this is true for most Senate offices.   In recent months, I increased the number of staffers dealing with passports from one to seven.”

On June 8, Senator Lugar welcomed the decision by the Departments of State and Homeland Security to temporarily suspend new passport requirement for travel to Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean and Bermuda.  “Implementation of this requirement has completely overwhelmed the passport system,” said Senator Lugar.

The temporary rule suspension means that U.S. citizens traveling to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda who have applied for, but not yet received, passports can temporarily enter and depart from the United States by air with a government issued photo identification and Department of State official proof of application for a passport through September 30, 2007.  Children under the age of 16 traveling with their parents or legal guardian will be permitted to travel with the child's proof of application.  It is still recommended, however, that passport applications be submitted at least six months in advance or as quickly as possible.  Passport applications must be pending to travel by air to foreign destinations. 

Senator Lugar also wrote to Secretary Condoleezza Rice and expressed his concern for Hoosier travelers caught in the passport backlog. In the letter, he sought information about how the Department of State was dealing with the passport backlog and suggested that he and other members of Congress would be closely following the corrective measures put in place.

Senator Lugar said that his office will continue to work with constituents that have questions or pending passport applications and are traveling to other locations.  A new section on Senator Lugar’s website allows constituents to share information so casework staff can efficiently check on the status of their passport application.

Additional information is available on Senator Lugar's Passport Assistance page.