Today, Sen. Warner attended a Senate Banking Committee Hearing on oversight of the Defense Production Act, a U.S. law originally enacted in 1950 that has been consistently amended and reauthorized since.  The Act authorizes the President to use various tools to ensure the material support of our armed forces. 

Sen. Warner used the opportunity to commend a Navy program that began in the previous authorization of the Defense Production Act, which allows the Navy to invest in alternative energy in cases where it would cost less than traditional fuel sources.  The program has gotten strong support from both Navy Secretary Ray Mabus and former Virginia Senator John Warner, who have argued that it could help save money and save lives.

“Our country needs an all of the above energy policy,” said Sen. Warner, “and we’ve seen remarkable progress as far as natural gas and even some traditional oil reserves, but putting all our eggs is one basket is not smart.”

“I think what Secretary Mabus has done on the Navy side,” he continued, “has made sense.  I’d point out that the Department of Defense spends about $15 billion a year on fuel.  It’s my understanding that if we get into phase 2 [of the program], the DoD will be able to purchase close to 170 million gallons a year of military biofuel at a price substantially less than what we’re paying now for conventional fuels.”

Sen. Warner emphasized that military investment in non- corn-based biofuels is not only environmentally sound and cost efficient, but also had already begun to create the infrastructure necessary to support further development of alternative energy sources.

“I would argue that the investments under the Defense Production Act made by the Departments of Defense, Energy, and Agriculture to help create something that could be a new industry in America,” Sen. Warner told his colleagues, “meet the DoD’s needs to alleviate a $15 billion fuel cost that is very volatile…We’re able to lock in, at a very market-competitive price, a stable supply of fuel that could actually grow and be tremendously valuable.

Witness Frank Kendall, the DoD’s Under Secretary for Industry and Security, spoke out in support of Sen. Warner’s conclusions.  “The reason we’re doing that project is because it has that potential,” he said. “Your points about the purpose and potential of this project are accurate.”