United States-Israel Energy Cooperation Act

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2730) to establish a grant program to fund eligible joint ventures between United States and Israeli businesses and academic persons, to establish the International Energy Advisory Board, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2730, the United States-Israel Energy Cooperation Act and urge my colleagues to support its passage. The U.S.-Israel Energy Cooperation Act will help curb America's reliance on foreign oil and increase our use of new energy technologies.

As the gentleman knows, the price of gasoline has risen to well above $3 a gallon across America. Indeed, it is drastically affecting the pocketbooks of all Americans and all American businesses. It affects every aspect of our economy; and, indeed, the rising cost of energy threatens the American economy. That is at least one of the reasons why the United States and Israel need to work together in partnership to look for ways that we can reduce our reliance on foreign sources of energy and particularly on foreign oil.

This bill utilizes the critical and close relationship between the United States and Israel on a common area of interest, that is, energy and energy independence by creating a vehicle for innovation and security.

Mr. Speaker, every American is aware that the United States is too dependent on foreign sources of energy. Every American should realize the danger this creates for us as a Nation. The United States Government predicts that by 2025 America will import almost 68 percent of its oil; and, increasingly, this oil comes from dangerous parts of the world. It comes from unstable areas, including the increasingly unstable Middle East.

Global fuel and consumption, however, is projected to increase by 100 to 150 percent over the next 20 years, driven largely by the rapidly growing Chinese and Indian economies; and this growth and this increase in demand will force prices even higher.

If the United States is to protect itself from the economic and the political threats created by this excessive dependence, we must reduce our reliance on foreign energy sources and on foreign oil as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

But there is a common interest between the United States and Israel in this work. Israel, too, is too dependent on foreign sources of energy; and this legislation takes care of that issue. It allows the United States Department of Energy to invest up to $20 million annually in joint energy projects between American and Israeli businesses, scientists and academics. Eligible products include research, development and commercialization of alternative energy sources, improved energy efficiency and renewable energy sources.

It is important, Mr. Speaker, to understand that legislation is not a handout, unlike other similar programs. Every single recipient of funds under this legislation is required, by the terms of the legislation, to pay back the American taxpayers in proportion to the Federal Government's share of the overall investment in the project. What that means is that if a successful project is developed as a result of these funds and if an energy source is found, according to rules provided by the Secretary of Energy, the Treasury of the United States will be repaid in proportion to the Federal Government's investment in the research involved or in the project which created this new energy.

H.R. 2730 has wide bipartisan support, including more than 100 Members of this House. It passed the Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously. I believe it is a critically important piece of legislation, and that that view is shared not only by those of us in this Congress but also by the people of Israel.

Not long ago, Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert, addressed a joint session of the United States Congress here in this Chamber. In his speech to the United States Congress just a few weeks ago, he expressed his support for this legislation, stating that ``through the United States-Israel Energy Cooperation Act, in collaboration with our U.S. counterparts, Israel will increase its efforts to find advanced scientific and technological solutions designed to develop new energy sources and encourage conservation.''

I would suggest it is not common for the Prime Minister of another nation to call on the United States to join them in the passage of a specific piece of legislation which will benefit both nations.

The United States and Israel are both at the cutting edge of research in energy technologies, but we must do

more to end our dependence on foreign energy, and we have every reason to cooperate. For example, in my own State of Arizona, an Israeli scientist is working with an Arizona company on a demonstration project involving a very fast-growing algae which can be used to power a biomass energy plan.

By passing this legislation, the United States and Israel are fostering a partnership dedicated to scientific breakthroughs and improvements in energy innovation. This modest investment in scientific research will help both the United States and Israel in our efforts to develop new energy technologies, and it will help both of our countries reduce our reliance on foreign sources of energy.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Conaway).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan, my colleague from the Commerce Committee, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet (Mr. Upton).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

At this point, I will insert in the Record an exchange of letters between the chairman of the Commerce and Energy Committee and the chairman of the Science Committee on the issue of jurisdiction over this legislation.

House of Representatives,

Committee on Science,

Washington, DC, June 29, 2006.

Hon. Joe Barton,

Chairman, Committee on Energy and Commerce,

Washington, DC.

Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing to you concerning the

jurisdictional interest of the Science Committee in H.R.

2730, the United States-Israel Energy Cooperation Act. The

Science Committee acknowledges the importance of H.R. 2730

and the need for the legislation to move expeditiously.

Therefore, while we have a valid claim to jurisdiction over

the bill, I agree not to request a sequential referral. This,

of course, is conditional on our mutual understanding that

nothing in this legislation or my decision to forgo a

sequential referral waives, reduces or otherwise affects the

jurisdiction of the Science Committee, and that a copy of

this letter and of your response will be included in the

Committee report and in the Congressional Record when the

bill is considered on the House Floor.

The Science Committee also expects that you will support

our request to be conferees on any provisions over which we

have jurisdiction during any House-Senate conference on this

legislation.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Sherwood Boehlert,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

I want to commend my friend from Arizona for his remarks. I certainly concur with everything he said.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the United States- Israel Energy Cooperation Act. As an original cosponsor of this legislation, I am pleased that Congress is moving it forward today. I would like to thank the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Shadegg) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman) for their great leadership in introducing this bill, as well as Chairman Barton and Ranking Member Dingell for supporting it in our committee.

As the gentleman from Arizona pointed out, the bill did pass the Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously, which shows the strong bipartisan support that it has. We will all benefit from our mutual commitment to this legislation; and, more importantly, our country will benefit.

Today, the United States consumes nearly 21 million barrels of oil per day, demands 25 percent of global oil production and holds only 3 percent of the global oil supply. This has made our Nation dangerously dependent on unstable and hostile nations for fuel and illustrates just how important it is for the United States to continue to build upon partnerships with other nations for developing alternative energy sources. Simply put, initiatives like this will help strengthen United States national security.

Israel has always been a close friend and ally of the United States, and this legislation simply builds upon both nations' history of innovation and cooperation on scientific research. We have already worked together on the United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation and the United States-Israel Binational Industrial Research and Development Foundation.

As some of you may remember, during consideration of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, I had a provision successfully adopted into the law, section 986, which requires the Secretary of Energy to report regularly on energy collaboration between the United States and Israel. We received the first report in November of 2005, and today's legislation will certainly expand opportunities for us to work together on achieving energy independence through the development and deployment of environmentally friendly energy technologies.

As a result of H.R. 2730, the Secretary of Energy will establish a grant program for joint ventures composed of Israeli and U.S. businesses and academics devoted to improving and expanding research on alternative energy, improved the energy efficiency, or renewable energy sources.

Our Nation is long overdue for a national energy policy that provides reliable, secure, affordable and environmentally responsible supplies of energy for our growing economy. While the small grants authorized in this program certainly cannot alone wean us off our addiction on oil in the short term, working with the highly advanced scientific sector in Israel, we can move in the right direction and affirm our hopes for what can be discovered and created through the mutual cooperation of our two great nations.

Again, I want to say that it is imperative that the United States take steps to wean itself off of its dependence on oil, and Middle Eastern oil in particular. Our national security and our energy needs are intertwined, and this bill will go a great step in moving in that direction.

So, Mr. Speaker, I strongly support the U.S.-Israel Energy Cooperation Act and urge its adoption today.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman), my friend who worked hard on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Berkley).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I want to again commend the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Shadegg) for his leadership on this bill.

I think that all the points that have been made on both sides of the aisle have been very important and very relevant, and that is why this bill is really a no-brainer. It is good for the United States, first and foremost. It is good for our relationship with the beleaguered State of Israel. And we know that to move forward, we need to find alternatives to oil, and this bill goes a long, long way. I am convinced that the technology is out there.

I am convinced that we can be free of our addiction to oil, that we can take care of our energy needs without oil. I am doing other legislation with the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston) in that regard. And I believe that in the next decade, our attention is really going to have to be focused on finding alternative ways of energy for this country.

This bill is an absolute win for everybody, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, there is no greater problem in this world than our dependence on petroleum. There is no greater problem for our Nation.

There is no greater problem for our economy than the fact that we have to import so much oil, sending billions of dollars every year to other countries, thereby impacting our balance of payments.

There is no greater problem for families than paying for gasoline and paying to cool or heat their homes.

There is no greater problem for the environment than the pollution caused when we burn petroleum, and there is no greater problem for the environment than global warming and the production of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

There is no greater problem for our national security than our reliance on foreign petroleum, first, the physical security of that petroleum and, second, the fact that the rest of the world, if not the United States, finds it necessary in order to acquire petroleum to give money to such countries as Iran and others who use that money for nefarious purposes.

Therefore, there is nothing that we can do that is more important than

weaning the United States and the world off its dependence of petroleum. And the first step is research, and an important part of that research is cooperative research with other countries similarly dedicated to finding alternative energy.

There is perhaps no better partner than Israel. For the prime minister of Israel just a couple months ago, as the gentleman from Arizona pointed out, stood in this hall and said, ``Both Israel and the United States share a desire for energy security and prevention of global warming. Therefore, through the United States-Israel Energy Cooperation Act, in collaboration with our U.S. counterparts, Israel will increase its efforts to find advanced scientific and technological solutions designed to develop new energy sources and encourage conservation.''

As the prime minister pointed out, Israel and the United States have a strong mutual interest in advanced alternative energy research. Both countries are on the cutting edge of this scientific research. With modest investment, we can help stimulate joint efforts between American and Israeli private sector institutions and academic institutions to work toward the development of technology that reduces the world's dependence on petroleum.

In the 108th Congress, I introduced a very similar bill to the one that is before us today. It has been a pleasure to work with the gentleman from Arizona in introducing this bill last year, an improved version of the bill, and to work with so many, including the gentleman from New York, to see that that bill would reach this floor.

H.R. 2730 would allow the Department of Energy to invest up to $20 million annually to provide joint ventures between the U.S. and Israeli business and academic researchers both for alternative energy sources and for energy conservation. The Federal Government could recoup some or all of the monies so appropriated since, as the gentleman from Arizona pointed out, under each grant is an obligation for the grantee to pay the money back if the investment is successful and revenues are obtained.

Now, this legislation builds on existing cooperative efforts, including the United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation and the United States-Israel Binational Research and Development Foundation. These two entities have already made scientific breakthroughs in a variety of fields, including the life sciences, medicine, bioengineering, agriculture, and communications. Now it is time to redouble these efforts and to focus on energy. As the gentleman from New York pointed out, we have already had cooperative efforts with Israel on energy and he had added language in a bill passed last year to redouble those efforts. It is now time to pass the U.S.-Israel Energy Cooperation Act so that we would have a vehicle to move forward and work with Israel to use its cutting-edge scientific knowledge, and ours, to wean the world one step at a time off the need for consumption of petroleum.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me time.

I rise today in strong support of this bill introduced by my distinguished colleague and friend, Mr. Shadegg of Arizona.

This measure establishes a grant program to fund joint ventures between American and Israeli businesses and scholars and calls for the creation of an International Energy Advisory Board comprised of U.S. and Israeli representatives working in tandem toward the diversification of our sources of energy.

Today, due to our reliance on the foreign supply of oil, the United States is in a troubling position that is quickly escalating. As reported by the Department of Energy, U.S. dependence on foreign oil will increase by 33 percent in the next 20 years.

What makes the situation even worse is that frequently the money invested in foreign oil to meet our energy needs is then manipulated to fund terrorists who aim to attack us and our closest allies.

Part of the solution to this problem is simple: eliminating our dependency on Middle Eastern sources of energy and developing alternative energy sources to meet our needs.

Although developing alternative energy sources, that is, forms of energy, is far from easy, it is necessary for our continued security. Working together with Israel on developing such alternatives and on improving energy efficiency makes perfect sense.

Israel is a close and much valued friend of the United States, one with whom we share a deep bond based on mutual values of freedom, justice and democracy and one with whom we stand side by side in our struggle against terror.

Israeli scientists have developed some of the world's most advanced technology, contributing greatly to breakthroughs in vital fields. One of Israel's many technological breakthroughs in the field of renewable energy sources includes a technique that significantly increases the efficiency of using solar energy to generate hydrogen for use in energy cells.

Mutual collaboration would yield great benefits for both the United States and Israel in an effort to develop technological solutions to our energy dependency problem.

Mr. Speaker, by supporting this bill, the United States Congress will enhance the cooperation between our two countries and will jump-start the creative process for the development of innovative approaches to a critical issue with domestic and national security implications.

And I thank the gentleman, the sponsor, for his time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support H.R. 2730, the United States-Israel Energy Cooperation Act, introduced by my colleagues Congressman Sherman and Congressman Shadegg.

The bill uses two existing cooperative efforts, United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF) and the United States-Israel Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation, to establish a $20 million/year grant program administered by the Department of Energy. This program is intended to encourage American and Israeli businessmen and academics to pursue projects that would reduce our dependence on current energy resources and explore ways to increase energy efficiency.

Research by the Energy Information Administration of the Department of Energy has shown that the dependence of the United States on foreign oil will increase by 33 percent over the next 20 years. We are familiar with our Nation's ``addiction to oil,'' as President Bush phrased it in the State of the Union, and the need to wean ourselves off of foreign energy dependence and onto more efficient energy resources.

As we watch the Middle East transform before our eyes once again, we must remember that in Israel we not only have a strategic ally. Israel is also a leader in technology innovation and research, a resilient and strong economic partner, and a nation that shares our interest in the development of energy alternatives development. Israel has the highest proportion in the world of scientists and engineers within the working population, as well as the highest proportion of published scientific papers and patents.

The United States and Israel share an unease about depleting energy resources, as well as a concern of the environment, and the importance of conservation initiatives. Although our politics and diplomacy are clearly actively engaged on a different stage of history in the Middle East. We must explore opportunities to increase our energy security, and pursue scientific advancements with the American and Israeli private and public sectors.

This venture is in our economic interest and our national security interest.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.