Iowa Politics

Iowa Politics: "Invest in New Energy Technology The United States should lead the world in innovation and clean energy technology. Our energy security and our economic future require that we have the domestic resources to research, develop, and bring to market the clean energy the world will need. Over the past five years the federal investment in research and development remained flat. Basic research is the backbone of our economy. Yet over the 25 years from FY 1978 to FY 2004, government spending on energy research and development fell from $6 billion to $1.8 billion. We should be exporting technology instead of importing the parts to build biofuel plants from India or solar panels from Spain. To create jobs, boost spending on alternative energy, climate research, carbon capture and sequestration, and energy efficiency Joe Biden would: * Create A Five-year, $50 billion Apollo Project For Energy and Climate Change: Joe Biden supports more than $50 billion in new incentives for research into: alternative fuel and energy sources, renewable energy technology, nuclear waste management and safety, and carbon capture and sequestration technologies that could allow us to use coal cleanly. Programs would include financial prizes awarded for breakthroughs in specific technologies; additional funds for an 'Energy ARPA,' a successful decentralized, high risk- high reward research model; demonstration and test projects designed to jump-start commercial implementation; and additional funding for critical technologies. Joe Biden would pay for the Apollo Project by: "