mr. chairman , i yield myself such time as i may consume , and i am offering an amendment to the energy bill for a study of the potential for fuel savings from information technology . 
this will help businesses and consumers and , really , the country at large . 
suppose you are driving to work . 
today , you can listen to the radio and get some traffic information . 
you can use that , occasionally , to avoid delays . 
but what if you had something in your car that was giving you real-time information that would say , turn right now and save 10 minutes , and you could use that every day ? 
you would save time , fuel , and money . 
multiply that by the millions of people commuting doing the same thing , and it adds up to a real difference in our fuel use . 
i mean , how many times have you driven around the block looking for a place to park ? 
suppose you had a system in your car that told you where the open parking spots are and how to get there ? 
mr. chairman , this is not buck rogers stuff . 
this is not so far fetched . 
information technology is cheap . 
the electronic systems are inexpensive and easy to install , but we have not really looked at them systematically . 
so where my legislation talks about web-based real-time transit information systems , or congestion information systems , or carpool information systems , do not think of them as systems ; think of them as saving time so you can get home to read a bedtime story to your kids or get to work not quite so frazzled and save money . 
suppose you thought about taking a bus to get across town . 
nowadays , you pretty much face the prospect of standing at the bus stop hoping the bus comes along , wondering if the bus will come along , wondering when you will get to work . 
what if you had a monitor , maybe on your cell phone , maybe at the bus stop that would tell you what the schedule is , where the bus is now , and when the bus will be at your stop ? 
you could even check before you left your house . 
these kinds of things are here today , not widely installed ; but they could be . 
my amendment simply calls for a study of the energy savings that would come from such things . 
i think it is straightforward and will be attractive to people all over the country , to businesses , to individuals , to cities , and of course to those who care about our energy usage ; and i urge its passage . 
mr. chairman , i reserve the balance of my time . 
