Meghan Hughes (202-224-5972) or Kevin Bishop (864-250-1417)

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) today made this statement after the conclusion of the Copenhagen climate summit. 

“The results from Copenhagen appear to be, at best, a mixed bag.  Regardless of the hazy outcome of Copenhagen, my primary goals remain clear: become energy independent, create American jobs, and clean our environment. 

“Last year we spent $400 billion on foreign oil and now find ourselves more dependent on overseas supplies than at any other time in our nation's history. Sometimes our money even goes to fund enemies bent on our destruction.  The only way we can break our addiction to foreign oil is to achieve energy independence through congressional action which includes opening additional areas to both on-and-offshore exploration for American-owned oil and gas. 

“We also need a renaissance in nuclear energy that would dramatically increase the number of nuclear power plants operating in our country and fully utilize our clean coal supplies.  We should also make strong and meaningful investments in alternative energy sources like biomass, solar, and wind.  We need a red, white, and blue energy policy for America, and an essential ingredient in making that possible is to set a price on carbon. Pricing allows alternative energy sources to become more economically viable resulting in a cleaner environment. 

“It is in our own national security interests to achieve energy independence and curb our pollution problem.” 

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