I am proud to support T. Boone Pickens and the Pickens' Plan for energy independence. Mr. Pickens has demonstrated that real solutions almost always have their origins in the private sector not the bureaucracy in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Pickens spoke to the Georgia Republican delegation at the Republican National Convention in Minnesota. I listened carefully to his remarks and have since visited www.pickensplan.com and read papers on the plan.

With enthusiasm, I join with Mr. Pickens and offer my support to this creative and innovative plan to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil. Mr. Pickens is correct; our country is addicted to foreign oil. That addiction threatens our economy, our environment, and our national security. We must act and act now!

I see a great synergy in America, and I am proud to support the outstanding leadership of Speaker Newt Gingrich. I was among the first candidates to sign the pledge to Drill Here, Drill Now, and Pay Less. Likewise, Mr. Pickens understands that his plan is a bridge to the future - as he says, "a blueprint to reduce foreign oil dependence within ten years by harnessing clean domestic energies." It takes the type of leadership that Speaker Gingrich and Mr. Pickens are offering to save America.

I have added a link to www.pickensplan.com to my website. I ask all Georgians to visit and sign up to support the Pickens' Plan. There are several local Georgia Pickens' Plan groups. I have joined many of them and encourage Georgians to join as well. Let's all work together to send a message to Washington, D.C. that Georgia wants to both Drill Here, Drill Now, and Pay Less, and implement the Pickens' Plan as a bridge for the future of energy in America.

I call on the President and the Congress to establish rights-of-way for transmission of electricity generated from renewable resources, to extend the existing renewable energy production tax credits, and to provide incentives for alternative fuel vehicles. America must start to fuel our cars and trucks with renewable energy. America's natural gas is cheaper, cleaner, abundant, and domestic. We have more than five times as much natural gas as we do oil. By shifting natural gas away from generating electricity, and putting it to use as a transportation fuel, we can reduce our dependence on foreign oil by more than one-third. This will buy America time to perfect renewable fuels that will never run out.

John Oxendine
Oxendine Working for Georgia

www.johnoxendine.com