Lugar Names CityBus General Manager Energy Patriot

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar recently named Marty Sennett, General Manager of CityBus in Lafayette, Indiana, as the April 2007 Lugar Energy Patriot for his efforts to build a hybrid bus fleet. The award is part of an ongoing effort by Lugar to recognize members of the business community, professionals, scholars, or students who demonstrate leadership and initiative in taking concrete action to reduce America's dependence on foreign energy sources.

"Every month we recognize a hero and Marty Sennett is our hero for April. He's a leader in Tippecanoe County and throughout the state. Marty has led efforts to get state-wide support for hybrid buses. He deserves recognition not only because he has advanced support for hybrids, but because he has gone ahead and bought the buses," said Lugar.

On Friday, March 2, Lugar presented Sennett with a certificate of recognition in front of the Lafayette-West Lafayette Chamber of Commerce during their three-day visit to Washington, D.C. Under Sennett's direction, the delegation is looking for federal funding to offset the additional costs of hybrid buses.

The hybrid buses cost $489,000 each compared to $294,000 for a standard diesel bus.

Last year, Lugar secured $4.1 million for the Indiana Transit Association (ITA) in the FY 2007 Senate Transportation Appropriations bill to create a program for Indiana transit authorities to obtain financial assistance in the purchase of hybrid buses. Unfortunately, all Member project requests were eventually eliminated from the final bill.

Read Marty Sennett's Energy Patriot profile at http://lugar.senate.gov/energy/links/patriot/.

For more than a decade, Senator Lugar has stressed the strategic importance of energy security and the economic and security risks of dependence on oil. His legislative efforts promote sustainable energy production and use, incentives for renewable fuels like cellulosic ethanol and E-85, increased fuel economy in cars, and clean coal. The Lugar Energy Initiative at http://lugar.senate.gov/energy highlights not only the repercussions of America's dangerous dependence on imported oil, but also provides information on energy legislation introduced by Senator Lugar, commentary by outside experts and information on alternative and renewable energy sources.

Recent Lugar Energy Patriots include: Nancy Ho, Ph.D, Molecular Biologist, Purdue University's Laboratory of Renewable Resources Engineering; Mike Hudson, CEO I-Power; Bill Keith, President, SunRise Solar Inc.; Charlie Smith, CEO Countrymark Co-op; and Kellie Walsh, Executive Director, Central Indiana Clean Cities Alliance.

Source: Senator Dick Lugar Press Release

Technorati Tags: News Dick Lugar Indiana Indiana Politics Politics Richard Lugar Senator Richard Lugar