Conrad and T. Boone

Senator Kent Conrad and members of a bipartisan coalition he formed known as the Gang of 20 met today with businessman T Boone Pickens to discuss strategies to break America s need for foreign oil Pickens is a Texas oilman He outlined his proposal to reduce America s dependence on oil and develop clean-energy technologiesincluding wind and solar Senator Conrad and the Gang of 20 have drafted their own comprehensive energy proposal Some of Pickens ideas are included in it The New Energy Reform Act calls for a major effort to transition 85 percent of the nation s motor vehicle s to fuels other than gas and diesel by 2028 Senator Conrad also spoke today about the Treasury Department s plan to buy up to 700 billion dollars in bad mortgage debt from troubled banks Senator Kent Conrad D North Dakota we simply can t continue to pile debt on top of debt we have to begin to send the signal the United states is going to start paying its bills