WASHINGTON, PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Frederick W. Smith, Chairman, President and CEO of FedEx Corporation, appeared before the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship today, giving powerful testimony on the growing danger oil dependence poses to the United States. The Committee, chaired by Senator John Kerry (D-MA), called the hearing to address the impact of rising gas prices on American small businesses. Citing the grave and growing economic and national security risks of excessive reliance on oil, Mr. Smith urged lawmakers to enact historic energy reforms being debated this week in the Senate.

Mr. Smith, who is co-Chair of the Energy Security Leadership Council (ESLC), a group of prominent business leaders and retired senior military officers committed to reducing U.S. dependence on oil, has been an outspoken voice for improving American energy security. In December of 2006, the ESLC publicly released Recommendations to the Nation on Reducing U.S. Oil Dependence. In that report, the Council put forth an approach to increasing energy security through measures that address both demand and supply.

"Right now, we are exporting hundreds of billions of dollars to people who wish us ill," testified Mr. Smith, who encouraged lawmakers to increase access to domestic oil supply, strengthen fuel-economy standards for all vehicles, and promote greater use of energy alternatives to oil.

Two of those provisions are currently contained in legislation endorsed by the ESLC. That bill, the "Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007," proposes reformed and strengthened fuel economy standards that would result in a 35 mpg average for the fleet of U.S. cars and trucks by 2020. Thereafter, annual four-percent increases in the fuel-economy of the entire new vehicle fleet would be required. The bill also includes standards for medium- and heavy-duty commercial trucks for the first time in history. The legislation's renewable fuel standard requires 30 billion gallons of biofuels by 2020 and 36 billion gallons by 2022.

Concluding his testimony, Mr. Smith remarked, "By strengthening fuel- economy standards, facilitating the development of diversified fuel sources, and expanding stable domestic production, America's leaders can dramatically boost our economic and national security, but they do not have the luxury of delaying these decisions far into the future. The choices must be made now, and in fact these decisions are confronting the Senate this week."

The ESLC is a project of Securing America's Future Energy, a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization committed to reducing America's dependence on oil and improving U.S. energy security in order to bolster national security and strengthen the economy.

SOURCE Securing America's Future Energy