Lawmaker prepared to forge national model for 21st
Century energy policy
HARRISBURG—Montgomery
County lawmaker Rep. Ellen M. Bard (R-153) has been chosen by the Joint State
Government Commission to head the Special Task Force on Pennsylvania’s
Energy Policy, a responsibility she is “more than ready to assume.”
David Hostetter, executive director of the Joint State Government
Commission, said, “Rep. Bard has dedicated her tenure in the House to
establishing Pennsylvania as the nation’s leader in developing alternative
energy sources to petroleum and also finding new domestic sources of
petroleum.
“She
has demonstrated a thorough understanding of energy policy, a great
appreciation of how serious the matter of energy independence and
diversification is, and a strong desire to resolve it. With Ellen at the helm
of the task force I am confident Pennsylvania will implement the kind of 21st
Century energy policy she has long envisioned it should have.”
It
was a resolution authored by Bard, passed by her House colleagues in June,
that directed the Joint State Government Commission to establish a
bi-partisan, bi-cameral task force charged with the task of developing an
energy strategy for Pennsylvania that:
1) Promotes the efficient use of energy by residential commercial, industrial,
government, transportation and power generation users within the
Commonwealth.
2) Promotes the development and production of new sources of petroleum
and alternatives to petroleum products within this Commonwealth.
Bard
has already scheduled an organizational meeting in late September for the task
force, to which she is inviting legislators, scientists, representatives of
state and local government, experts in the production and use of traditional
and alternative energy, experts in environmental and economic issues related
to energy and other experts. Some of the organizations she expects to be
represented at the meeting include the Pennsylvania Rural Electric
Association, the Public Utilities Commission, the Pennsylvania Coal
Association, the Clean Air Council, the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Association,
and the Pennsylvania State University Department of Energy.
“I
am eager to carry out the directive to implement an energy policy for
Pennsylvania that will ultimately serve as a model for the nation,” Bard
said. “Pennsylvania has been a leader in so many other areas, including
electric and natural gas choice, and we are now poised to be the lodestar on
energy policy, which is currently an issue of utmost importance for America.
“Instability
in the Middle East, the region upon which we rely for 50 percent of our oil,
means economic instability and unsteady petroleum prices for America,” Bard
said. “It’s time to develop
energy policies which address local demand for petroleum,” Bard said.
“If each state met its own needs through production or alternatives,
collectively we can stabilize energy prices and protecting our economic health
and our national security interests.”
The
Joint State Government Commission must report the task force's finding and
recommendations to the House of Representatives as soon as possible.
Bard said she will work rapidly so that the House legislation can be drafted
and, ideally, voted on as early as September 2002.
Bard
is the General Assembly's leading champion of energy independence. Last
session, she authored a resolution memorializing Congress to develop an energy
strategy meeting the goal of energy independence from foreign petroleum.
Her colleagues adopted the measure unanimously.
In 2000, Speaker Matthew
J. Ryan (R-168) appointed Bard to the National Conference of State
Legislature’s Energy and Transportation Committee, enabling her to have an
integral role in moving the issue of energy independence to the forefront of
the national agenda.
“By
working with federal lawmakers and state policymakers across the nation, we
can achieve energy independence.” Bard said. “We must do so because
America’s pervasive dependence on foreign resources imperils our economy and
our national security. Pennsylvania
can be a role model for other states to follow.”