mr. chairman , today congress took a significant step in establishing a comprehensive national energy plan to help lower gas prices and improve the reliability and accessibility of energy in wisconsin . 
this legislation contains language i strongly support to reduce the price spikes caused by `` boutique fuels '' and helps expand the domestic supply of oil and gas . 
this energy bill requires five billion gallons of renewable fuel to be included in all gasoline sold in the united states by 2015 . 
this increased use of ethanol will save 1.3 billion barrels of oil by 2016 while helping support our rural economy . 
our nation 's electricity grid will also see considerable improvement . 
the bill provides for enforceable mechanisms to ensure reliability and stop future blackouts . 
although i am generally pleased by the passage of the energy bill , it nevertheless contains some disappointing provisions , and i will be working expeditiously in the weeks to come to improve the bill even further . 
in particular , i plan to push for the inclusion of a ban on oil and gas drilling in the great lakes . 
the great lakes represent a critical and treasured part of our environment , our economy and our identity . 
the risks drilling poses to the lakes are unacceptable . 
i will also continue to lend my support to the effort to remove special liability protections for mtbe . 
we unfortunately came up short today to strip this mtbe language , but i 'll keep up the fight until this provision is removed . 
the manufacturers of mtbe should not be shielded from their responsibility to clean up contaminated groundwater . 
