Rep. Braley introduces fuel-origin bill backed by Wesley Clark

U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Waterloo) has introduced a bill that would require the U.S. Secretary of Energy to implement country-of-origin labels on motor vehicle fuel pumps, and he received backing for the idea Wednesday from retired Commander General Wesley Clark.

The bill, House Resolution 2073, has been referred to the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce. If the bill is approved, the Energy Secretary would have one year to work with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to complete a study that would determine the methods and standards of labeling fuel. Within 90 days of the study’s completion, the federal officials would need to return to Congress with recommendations based on their findings.

“I do believe if people at the gas pumps realize they just spent $42 and $12 of that is going to Venezuela [and] $14 is going to Nigeria that a connection will be made,” Clark, who currently helps lead the pro-ethanol advocacy group Growth Energy, told reporters on a conference call Wednesday.

“People will start to ask why we can’t have more effective exploration, production and synthetic oil in the U.S.”

Braley acknowledges that some believe it will be difficult to determine country-of-origin for much of the nation’s fuel supply due to the practice of blending. It’s one of the reasons why he built the one-year window and study into his bill. The proposal also stipulates that “listing of more than one country-of-origin for a fuel blend containing fuel 70 percent or more of which originated in a single country” won’t be mandated.

Both men hope the new found consumer knowledge would translate to increased domestic fuel production, which would lead better economic prospects for local producers and job-seekers and increased U.S. revenues. They also hope that the awareness would spark renewed interest and urgency in the biofuels industry.

“When we look at the raw numbers, the fact is that we are importing 31 percent of our oil from three countries,” Braley said. “The more that we can reduce that dependence and create opportunities to produce fuel in the U.S., whether through traditional petroleum or through alternatives like biofuels, that has a significant impact on job creation in the U.S. So, the whole point is, by reducing our addiction to foreign oil, it will open up job opportunities here.”

Clark added that if the nation could keep the billions now being spent on foreign oil in the U.S. and recirculate it, “you would provide jobs for millions of Americans with those resources.”

“Just the tax on that type of money staying inside the United States, as it turns over-and-over, would probably be close to $100 billion of tax receipts,” said Clark. “It could fund education. It could fund infrastructure improvements. Plus it allows us to have the demand we need to really bring our biofuels industry — ethanol and advanced cellulosic biofuels — forward, because what we need is the opportunity to compete.”

What Braley isn’t ready to do, he says, is create a situation that would result in an undue burden on fuel retailers.

“This bill gives the Department of Energy a year to study this problem, and do some pilot analysis on what the obstacles would be and make sure that it is feasible and that it isn’t going to have an adverse impact on small business owners,” Braley said.