Congresswoman Kay Granger joined the growing ranks of Americans who have signed the T. Boone Pickens pledge to end our country’s dependence on foreign oil.

“While I am relieved energy prices have dropped here in Tarrant County, now is not the time to become complacent,” said Granger. “Now is actually the time to push for a new energy strategy, because none of us want to face four dollars a gallon again. That is why signing the pledge now is important. ”

Congresswoman Granger played a critical role in Washington in calling on Congress to increase the supply of American-made energy.  Over the summer, Granger repeatedly urged a vote on the American Energy Act, an “all of the above” solution to reducing energy prices. 

“We were successful on some fronts this last summer to increase the ability of our country to produce more domestic energy, but we still have a long way to go,” said Granger. “We can now begin to explore offshore drilling in an environmentally safe way, and we have extended incentives to use alternative energy such as solar and wind power.

The Pickens Plan would significantly increase the use of wind energy and natural gas to meet our energy needs.  The Pickens Plan website cites a Department of Energy report stating that twenty percent of America’s electricity can come from wind. In the Texas panhandle town of Pampa, Pickens has plans to build the largest wind farm in the world. 

Natural gas is the second part of the Pickens strategy to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.  His website states that natural gas is our country’s second largest energy resource. His site goes on to state that 98% of the natural gas used in the United States is from North America. 

Granger joins over 1.3 million Americans and 131,990 Texans who have signed the pledge.

“I appreciate the resolve T. Boone Pickens has shown on this issue.  His pledge has generated a great amount of interest and support,” said Granger. “I am glad to join with him and so many others to work on a solution that is doable, because we can’t just continue to talk about our dependence, we need to do something about it”

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Unveiled on July 8, 2008 by T. Boone Pickens, the Pickens Plan is a detailed solution for ending the United States’ growing dependence on foreign oil.  Earlier this year, when oil prices reached $140/barrel, America was spending about $700 billion for foreign oil, equaling the greatest transfer of wealth in human history. That figure has decreased while oil prices have retreated, but the U.S. is still dependent on foreign nations for nearly 70 percent of its oil, representing a continuing national economic and national security threat. The plan calls for investing in power generation from domestic renewable resources such as wind and using our abundant supplies of natural gas as a transportation fuel, replacing more than one-third of our imported oil. You can learn more about the Pickens plan by visiting his website (https://www.pickensplan.com/)