Barletta, Kanjorski focusing on energy

HAZLETON - Standing in the middle of a Hazleton neighborhood that won national and state awards for energy efficiency, Republican congressional candidate Lou Barletta laid out a plan for energy independence.

In Washington, Barletta’s opponent – 12-term Democratic incumbent Paul E. Kanjorski -- sent a letter to U.S. House and Senate leaders encouraging them to convene a bipartisan summit to address energy issues before the August district work period.

As gasoline prices exceed $4 per gallon – a historic high – Barletta and Kanjorski voiced their support to decrease U.S. dependence on foreign oil and reduce the energy costs causing financial strain for many Americans.

Barletta spoke at the Pine Street Neighborhood Project -- two dozen environmentally friendly and economically energy-efficient homes that replaced vacant, decaying factories that once blighted a small section of downtown Hazleton.

His energy plan includes finding local solutions, like promoting the use of clean coal technology, which, Barletta said, would ease the energy crunch, add jobs and boost the local economy.

He said he favors developing cellulosic ethanol, a type of grain ethanol that comes from the parts of plants that humans cannot digest, so its use won’t jeopardize the national food supply.

“We could get most of our fuel from the Midwest, not the Middle East,” Barletta said. “We need to loosen, in some common-sense way, the restrictions that keep us from exploring for our own natural resources.”

Kanjorski said it is essential that the rising costs of energy that are causing deep financial strains for many Americans be addressed now.

Kanjorski cited the Farm Bill, which he said will help lower gas prices by decreasing dependence on foreign oil and discouraging farmers from using corn as energy – a practice that increases its cost.

Kanjorski voted for the Farm Bill, which he said takes steps to make the transition from corn-based ethanol to cellulosic ethanol.

On Wednesday, the House and Senate voted to override the president’s veto of the Farm Bill. The bill passed with bipartisan support in the House by a vote of 317-109 and in the Senate by a vote of 80-14.

The bill creates a new tax credit that will provide a $400 million investment in cellulosic biofuels, reduces the current tax credit on corn-based ethanol by six cents per gallon and creates a new tax credit to promote the production of cellulosic biofuels.

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Barletta gives energy plan. Kanjorski urges Congressional leaders to act.

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