Barely a year after Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) was reviled on cable television and by her Republican opponent for asking Gen. David Petraeus, the Afghanistan commander, about energy use on the battlefield, a bipartisan group of lawmakers yesterday launched a caucus to bring focus to the issue.

"Our military people have been leading the rest of our country for a number of years now on energy, and I'm glad we're finally now recognizing that by inaugurating this defense energy security caucus," said Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.), who is widely known for his diatribes about peak oil, and in recent months has been making appearances at military energy events.

Bartlett and New York Democratic Rep. Maurice Hinchey will co-chair the Defense Energy Security Caucus, which aims to educate lawmakers about the importance of "sustainable energy sources" for the U.S. military. Most of the 17 current caucus members sit either on the House Armed Services Committee or the defense subcommittee of the House Appropriations panel.

It appears that the caucus will serve as a convener -- Hinchey said it will bring together the military, energy industry experts and lawmakers -- rather than take a united stance on issues.

The co-chairmen expressed support yesterday for measures in the current defense appropriations bill that aim to cut energy use at installations and equip Marines with alternative energy technologies. There was less of a consensus on hot-button issues such as attempts to roll back a 2007 provision that bans the federal government from purchasing dirtier fuels (E&E Daily, July 7) and let the Defense Department enter into longer-term contracts for fuel.

Click here to go to the caucus' website.