Today we have the third press release from 16th district Democratic Party congressional candidate Robert Abboud criticizing Republican Congressman Don Manzullo’s energy policy:

ABBOUD: PLEASE CONGRESSMAN CAN I HAVE SOME MORE…PANDERING
“Just because Manzullo says it’s a plan doesn’t mean it’s a plan”.

ROCKFORD – Bob Abboud, candidate for Illinois’ 16th Congressional district and nuclear engineer, said Monday that Rep. Don Manzullo’s (R-16) plan to eliminate local gasoline taxes will rob municipalities, counties, and townships of precious funds allocated for critical infrastructure and road repair projects.

Abboud continued his assault on Manzullo’s energy plan saying his leadership can only exacerbate America’s energy crisis – doing nothing to reduce the price at the pump and prolonging American dependence on costly foreign oil.

“I don’t think he understands the kind of crisis we are facing,” Abboud said. “Points three, four and five of his so-called plan will only continue to allow gas prices to crush American families and move us farther away from the day when America is energy independent. Don Manzullo represents the failed policies of the past that caused this catastrophe. America desperately needs fundamental change and the 16th district needs to change Don Manzullo.”

State and local gasoline taxes generate precious funds for counties, municipalities and townships to continue building and maintaining critical infrastructure and road repair projects.

“As a Mayor I understand that those dollars are used to maintain roads, bridges and other infrastructure,” Abboud said.

“Manzullo’s plan wasn’t thought out, it was crafted to sound like real policy but it is really a bunch of half-cocked ideas that will severely damage the ability of state and local government to maintain the very things that get us to and from work everyday. Manzullo doesn’t want to solve this problem; he just wants to get re-elected.”

Abboud continued to hammer Manzullo’s plan, saying that asking motorists to drive less to save money while his big oil company executive friends are raking in staggering profits is insulting and unconscionable.

“People need to drive for work, to get to school and to go about their daily lives,” Abboud said. “They don’t deserve to be lectured by a Congressman that has failed for more than 15 years to solve, or even recognize the severity of this issue.”

Attacking Manzullo’s plan to extend more tax credits to motorists purchasing hybrid vehicles, Abboud said this would work well if American automakers weren’t already losing money on each hybrid they sold.

“People would purchase more efficient cars if they could afford them,” Abboud said. “Because Manzullo has failed to institute performance standards and support basic research, American car companies were left trying to choose between competing technologies with a crazy patchwork of uncoordinated tax breaks.”

American car companies need clear direction in energy policy and performance requirements to make hybrid technology affordable and widely available like seatbelts, airbags, and disc brakes.

“Joining forces with the big three will help save American jobs, bolster our economy and set us on the path to energy independence,” Abboud said. “It’s a shame that for 15 years Don Manzullo has failed our community and our country on this issue. It’s a shame because we could have already had this one licked; I know, I worked on advanced automotive development programs and we tested these systems.”

Abboud’s energy plan would utilize revenue generated by the federal gas tax to provide tax relief to purchase these new vehicles, as well as provide significant tax breaks for the development of affordable and widely available hybrid technology by American car makers. Most importantly, his plan provides the necessary long term vision and direction so that automotive companies can focus their resources to move the technology forward. This will allow car companies to provide so-called “plug-in” capability that will let consumers get the fuel for first 30 to 50 miles of driving right from the wall plug of their own garage for less than $0.70 a gallon.

Abboud will create the American Power Authority, a public-private partnership designed to build 100 new nuclear power plants, and add substantial other renewable sources of energy that will provide clean and renewable electric power to support these new hybrid vehicles. Abboud’s plan will eliminate America’s dependence on foreign oil.

And because it’s a real plan, its implementation immediately impacts market speculation and forces oil producers to lower prices to compete with this burgeoning technology.

For more information on Bob Abboud and his plan to protect the environment, reduce the cost of gasoline and put America on a path toward real energy independence please visit www.robertabboud.com.