Sadly, since school started I’ve been grading papers instead of writing letters in support of cold fusion. But over the summer, our Cold Fusion Now team did several large mailings of letters to legislators and agencies, accompanied by a Cold Fusion Now sticker, asking for attention and funding for LENR research.
The letters varied, each one unique to that senator’s accomplishments, but all of them discussed funding for low-energy nuclear reactions research using the vocabulary of “clean energy”.
This is the first response from any senator regarding those letters, and it comes from my home-state Senator Feinstein. Interestingly, I have telephoned, sent an email, and written a letter to Ms. Feinstein. This response below came through the email and is regarding my “letter” which did not contain an email address. So I guess they’ve got me sewed up all which ways!
Though the response is stock (it does not mention LENR, LANR, or cold fusion), I have to wonder, where did she put her Cold Fusion Now sticker???
Dear Ms. Carter:
Thank you for writing to express your support for passage of a clean energy and climate bill through the United States Senate in the 111th Congress. I appreciate hearing from you, and I welcome the opportunity to respond.
The “Clean Energy Jobs and Oil Company Accountability Act” (S. 3663) was introduced by Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) on July 28, 2010. This legislation combines a number of proposals that I support to address energy efficiency, climate change, oil spill response and accountability, and funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Although Senator Reid did not bring the bill to the Senate floor for a vote in July, please be assured that I support debating the bill on the Senate floor.
The “Clean Energy Jobs and Oil Company Accountability Act” includes five billion dollars for the HOMESTAR program, which provides incentives to promote greater residential energy efficiency. You may be interested to know that I have cosponsored the “Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010” (S. 3434), which provided the basis for the HOMESTAR provisions in S. 3663.
The “Clean Energy Jobs and Oil Company Accountability Act” also addresses oil spill response and accountability issues observed during the recent Gulf Coast oil spill. It would increase the liability caps on those who cause oil spills, require oil spill response plans to be far more specific, mandate that oil companies invest in technologies that help to prevent and respond to oil spills, improve the Federal government’s ability to respond to catastrophic oil spills in deepwater, and reform the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement (known previously as the Minerals Management Service) to prevent mismanagement and corruption.
Lastly, the “Clean Energy Jobs and Oil Company Accountability Act” would fund the LWCF at $900 million each year for the next five fiscal years. I am committed to preserving our nation’s natural resources. As Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies, I have worked with my colleagues to secure funding for the LWCF each fiscal year.
I remain committed to working with my Senate colleagues to advance legislation that will address oil spill response and accountability, climate change, job creation, and increasing our energy security. During this Congress, we have not yet been able to put together a comprehensive climate and energy bill capable of gaining the 60 votes necessary to pass the Senate, but I will continue to work with my colleagues to enact meaningful legislation in this area.
Again, thank you for your letter. If you have any other questions or comments, please contact my Washington, D.C. office at (202) 224-3841. Best regards.
Sincerely yours,
Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator
PS. I have telephoned my senators, as well as others on key committees, and that’s the easiest way to get the “clean energy” meme in their heads. Go ahead and make your call!