Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today introduced a proposal that would emphasize both increased domestic oil and gas production by encouraging energy companies to drill on existing leases and help Americans conserve energy. 

The Senate is currently debating legislation aimed at reducing speculation in oil markets, which many believe has led to higher oil prices. Bingaman introduced his proposal as an amendment to that bill.

"We should be doing more environmentally responsible oil production in our country," Bingaman said. "But we must also do much more to emphasize conservation. This amendment would help us do both."

The amendment would:

Fast Track Domestic Production. Right now, oil companies hold leases to 68 million acres of American land that they should be exploring and drilling but are failing to do so. The amendment will speed up the production of oil and gas from federal lands, by allowing the Secretary of the Interior the authority to shorten lease terms, raise rental rates on new leases, and require oil companies to comply with benchmarks on their progress. Our amendment would also accelerate leasing land already available in Alaska, the Central and Western Gulf of Mexico, and other areas -- without resorting to drilling in environmentally protected areas. All told, these new areas are estimated to contain tens of billions of barrels of oil. That's enough to displace oil imports from the Persian Gulf for nearly a century. 

Increase Oil Supplies Now. The amendment would require a sale of high-quality light crude oil now held in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and replace it with lower-quality heavy crude. The intent is to add more high-quality crude to a very tight market and provide immediate relief to consumers. Ninety percent of the proceeds generated from this sale would be invested in LIHEAP, the Federal program to help families, senior citizens and people with disabilities afford the cost of heating and cooling their homes.

Reduce Demand. The amendment includes several steps to tackle the demand side of the energy crisis. We promote public transit and make smart investments in the clean, renewable fuels and battery technologies we need to end our addiction to oil in the future. It also encourages conservation through an American oil savings action plan, with targeted savings of 2.5 million barrels per day by 2016, growing to 10 million barrels per day in 2030.  The measure also includes $1 billion to help retool Detroit to make more efficient vehicles.

Eliminate Giveaways.  The amendment would repeal mandatory deepwater and deep gas royalty relief for Outer Continental Shelf leases in the Gulf of Mexico and make it easier for the Department of the Interior to collect accurate amounts from the oil and gas companies drilling on public lands.