And Wall Street speculators have preyed upon oil
users’ fears about supply interruptions to bid up the price to over
$100 per barrel.

As the price of oil climbs, so too does the price
for gasoline. Every href=”http://www.businessinsider.com/crude-oil-and-gasoline-could-spike-from-gadhafis-long-war-in-libya-guest-post-2011-3”>
$10-per-barrel increase in oil prices boosts
gasoline prices by 25 cents per gallon. Many Americans do not have
the option to significantly reduce their driving or easily buy more
fuel-efficient new cars, so they spend more on gasoline and less on
other goods and services.

This slows our nation’s still shaky economic recovery and
disrupts job growth. Meanwhile, our economy ships off href=”http://www.trumanproject.org/files/papers/Oil_Addiction_-_Fueling_Our_Enemies_FINAL.pdf”>
nearly a $1 billion per day to other nations to
purchase foreign oil. And higher prices due to instability and
speculation inflate the profits of big oil companies while
Americans’ wages remain stagnant.

It’s time to get control of volatile oil prices that are hurting
our economy, our security, and the everyday budgets of American
families. These measures are crucial for longterm economic growth,
more jobs, and less dependence on foreign oil. They work together
to reduce imports and save money.

We propose a bold “Cleaner Cars, Less Foreign Oil” plan that has
four crucial elements.

• Cut foreign oil use by 5 percent annually to slash
  these imports in half by 2022. Importing foreign oil sends
  href=”http://www.trumanproject.org/files/papers/Oil_Addiction_-_Fueling_Our_Enemies_FINAL.pdf”
  target=”_blank”>$1 billion per day to other
  countries instead of investing these dollars at home.
  Foreign oil purchases are href=”http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/2010/11/us-trade-deficit-is-half-oil/”
  target=”_blank”>nearly half of our trade
  deficit.
  
  
  
  



• Invest in 21st century clean, efficient vehicles and
  transportation. We need to build 21st century cars that
  get 60 miles per gallon by 2025, trucks with a 15 percent
  improvement in fuel economy, and invest in electric cars. And we
  need to modernize our transportation infrastructure by providing
  more transportation choices to consumers. The domestic manufacture
  of these cars and trucks of the future alongside a 21st century
  transportation network will dramatically cut oil use, save vehicle
  owners thousands of dollars, create jobs, and restore America’s
  manufacturing might.
  
  
  
  



• End tax loopholes for big oil. href=”http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/04/oil_subsidies.html”
  target=”_blank”>End billions of dollars of tax
  giveaways to big oil companies. Use these funds to
  support transportation choices and deficit reduction. Recover one
  cent of every dollar of Big Oil profits to invest in advanced
  vehicle technologies, such as cars with double the fuel economy,
  electric cars, and natural gas powered buses.
  
  
  
  



• Stop speculators from driving up oil prices.
  Prohibit Wall Street href=”http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-13/oil-falls-for-a-fifth-day-in-new-york-as-japanese-quake-may-limit-demand.html”
  target=”_blank”>speculators from driving up oil
  prices by hiring more “cops on the beat” at the
  Commodity Futures Trading Commission to police oil trades. There is
  evidence that speculators are driving up oil prices to make a quick
  buck, just as there were during the record oil and gasoline prices
  in 2008.

President Barack Obama and Congress must act to make fundamental
changes in our energy policies. These systemic changes we recommend
will enable us to finally shed the chains of oil dependence after
40 years of imports, high prices, stagnant growth, and pollution.
But we must act now.

href=”http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/03/pdf/oilsavingsagenda.pdf”
target=”_blank”>Download the full memo (pdf)

John Podesta is President and CEO of the Center for American
Progress. Carl Pope is the Chairman of Sierra Club. Gene Karpinski
is the President of the League of Conservation Voters.