Lugar to 'recast' energy debate

WASHINGTON, June 10 (UPI) -- An energy bill introduced to the Senate would cut foreign oil dependence by 40 percent and emissions by more than 1.6 billion tons, an Indian lawmaker says.

U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar, R-Ind., introduced a measure on Capitol Hill that, he said, would "recast the debate" on energy.

Lugar in a statement stressed that energy was vital to U.S. national security because of high military consumption and foreign control over as much as 80 percent of the global oil reserves.

The Republican, who sits on a Senate subcommittee on energy, said his bill accelerates diversification of the power sector and encourages the use of domestic energy resources.

"Most important, it targets our dangerous oil addiction by maximizing fuel savings in transportation and increasing domestic production of fossil and bio-based fuels," he said in a statement.

His bill calls for increases in the use of alternative vehicles and higher fuel efficiency standards. It also advocates the "retirement" of out-of-date coal plants and an increased use of nuclear energy.

Rival measures, he added, for so-called cap and trade schemes present a "significant disconnect" with U.S. priorities for the energy sector.

"By placing carbon reductions ahead of solving energy vulnerabilities, the cap and trade bills situate the energy debate on the most controversial and unsustainable political ground," he said.