February 14, 2001

Bard’s Energy Resolution Slated for Mid-March Vote

 

HARRISBURG—The Ides of March may prove to be propitious for Montgomery County lawmaker Ellen M. Bard (R-153), who said today that the House plans to vote on her energy independence resolution near mid-March.

Specifically, House Resolution 12 creates a bipartisan legislative select committee to develop an energy strategy that relies on domestic alternatives to imported petroleum.

"Pennsylvania can serve as a model for other states to follow," Bard said. "If each state, by itself, did its part to reduce petroleum imports, collectively we would eliminate much of the threat to our country’s economic and national security. We must set a goal, which is attainable and can be reached, to achieve American energy independence within five years."

Bard, the General Assembly’s leading champion of American energy independence, serves on the National Conference of State Legislature’s (NCSL) Energy and Transportation Committee, which has allowed her to move her cause to the national forefront.

During the previous legislative session, she authored a measure memorializing Congress to develop an energy strategy meeting the goal of energy independence from foreign petroleum. The House adopted the measure unanimously.

"By working with federal lawmakers and state policymakers across the nation, we can achieve energy independence by 2005," Bard said. "We must do so because America’s pervasive dependence on foreign resources imperils our economy and national security."