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KINGSTON KICKS INTO HIGH GEAR THE CAMPAIGN TO REALIZE AMERICA’S FUEL INDEPENDENCE
Brings Fuel-Savings Technology To Capitol Hill; Meets With Auto’s “Big Three” Chiefs

Washington, May 19 -

This week, U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, R-GA, the vice-chairman of the House Republican Conference, held a series of events on Capitol Hill aimed at embracing already available fuel-efficiency technology.

On Thursday, Congressman Kingston participated in a closed-door meeting with among others, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL) and Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH), and the CEOs of the “Big Three” automakers, Rick Wagoner of General Motors Corp., William Ford of Ford Motor Co., and Tom LaSorda of Chrysler Group.

“Getting to see and hear about the technology that our manufacturers are already using was very helpful,” Congressman Kingston said. “I relayed to them my hope that Congress would act on bipartisan legislation I have authored that would bring that technology to the market faster.”

Other events Congressman Kingston held included bringing a prototype plug-in hybrid vehicle to Capitol Hill which was taken for a test-drive by Republican and Democrat Members of Congress and their staff. The modified Toyota Prius gets 100 miles per gallon and can be driven for up to 30 miles without using a single drop of gasoline.

He also invited former CIA director James Woolsey to speak at a Theme Team meeting chaired by Congressman Kingston to discuss the threat America’s reliance on foreign oil poses.

“With gas prices near $3 a gallon and expected to increase in the near future, it’s painfully clear that America must strike a new fuel strategy which is less dependent on foreign oil,” Congressman Kingston said. “Today, America is forced to rely on hostile nations like Venezuela and Iran for our oil which threatens both our economic and national security.”

Congressman Kingston’s bipartisan bill, the Fuel Choices For American Security Act of 2005 (HR 4409), would help America realize its fuel independence by 2015 by setting aggressive, achievable goals for oil savings, speeding entry of the 21^st Century vehicles to the public, and embracing new, clean fuel choices and bringing them to the market faster.

Kingston concluded, “America should do what nations like Brazil have done. Thirty years ago, Brazil set a goal to be fuel independent, and just this year, they announced that they had achieved that goal. America’s fuel independence is our next big moon shot.”

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