Portland, OR – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley kicked off his celebration of America’s independence today by beginning his oil-free across Oregon trip and showcasing the need for America to declare its independence from overseas oil.
The Senator kicked off his trip today at “Electric Avenue” on the Portland State University campus after starting from the Washington border and will travel down to the California border. The Senator will visit communities along the way to highlight the potential for electric vehicles to transform how America uses energy.
“Over 300 miles, 8 Oregon counties, and not one drop of gasoline. That’s what I call declaring independence from overseas oil,” said Merkley. “I’m thrilled to be here at ‘Electric Avenue’ with such a charged up crowd wishing me well on this ‘border to border’ trip. We are going to learn a lot over the course of the next two days and talk to a lot of Oregonians about the need to make smart investments that will help us end our addiction to oil.”
Senator Merkley also highlighted legislation he has introduced with Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) that would provide short-term incentive for rapid development and production of electric vehicles. The Promoting Electric Vehicles Act would create deployment communities to serve as models and help determine best practices for the nationwide use of electric vehicles.
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