U.S. Must Produce Coal-to-Liquid Fuel (Sen. Craig Thomas)

It’s easy to see that our country is facing an ever-growing energy security crisis. We are overly reliant on imported oil from violent and unstable parts of the world, and we don’t do enough to invest in domestic fuel production. This has resulted in record-breaking gas prices that are placing an undue burden squarely on the backs of every American. Fortunately, there is something we can do now to ensure our energy security.

We can begin to develop major energy sources right here at home utilizing advanced fuel technology to produce new, clean burning products like coal-derived fuels. By taking advantage of coal, our largest domestic energy reserve, we can provide a readily available and flexible fuel source for our country now that can continue to be used in the future.

That is why I recently introduced S. 1443. My bill will improve our nation’s fuel supply by making 21 billion gallons of coal-derived fuel available over the fifteen years. The evidence in support of coal is overwhelming — there’s no question that coal must continue to be a major part of the solution to achieving energy security. The quicker we capitalize on this large resource and move forward to make coal more clean and efficient, the faster we’ll have an answer to our nation’s energy needs.