Capitol Hill was the venue last week for a gathering of natural gas vehicle advocates trying to educate the public, media, and policy- and decision-makers about the use of natural gas as a clean, domestic and abundant transportation fuel that is a viable and available alternative to foreign oil.

Sponsored by NGV America, the "NGVs Take the Hill" event was held a few blocks from the Capitol building in Washington, D.C.

Natural gas advocates expressed their support of the recently introduced "New Alternative Transportation to Give Americans Solutions" (NAT GAS) Act of 2011. The bill (H.R. 1380) would accelerate the use of natural gas fuel in the nation's transportation sector.

Joined at the event by over 20 members of Congress, Clean Energy co-founder and natural gas advocate T. Boone Pickens urged his fellow Americans and Congressional leaders "to look to America's clean, abundant and affordable natural gas reserves as the key to our energy future."

"Every month I report on how much money our country is spending on imported oil," Pickens said. "March tipped the scale as we spent nearly $40 billion -- $922,912 per minute -- on imported oil, representing a staggering 72 percent of our oil needs. We are here today to show the country that we are doing something, and we can do a lot more by getting off OPEC oil and onto cleaner, abundant, American natural gas."

The event displayed more than a dozen natural gas-powered vehicles, ranging from passenger cars to 18-wheelers, provided by numerous companies, organizations, and manufacturers. On display were NGVs from: AT&T; Ryder System, Inc.; the Vehicle Production Group Inc.; BAF Technologies; IMPCO Automotive; Westport; General Motors Corp.; Washington Gas; Kenworth; Dillon Transport; Navistar; and others. The scope of vehicles demonstrated the application of NGVs across a broad range of industry sectors.

Ryder, which recently ordered more than 200 natural gas heavy-duty trucks, showed off a vehicle from its heavy-duty natural gas fleet offering.

"Providing leadership to promote the use of natural gas in heavy-duty commercial fleets is a key initiative for Ryder," says Robert Sanchez, president, Global Fleet Management Solutions for Ryder. "Participation in this event underscores our commitment to bringing cost-effective, environmentally sound commercial transportation solutions to market that help businesses reduce both fleet fuel costs and emissions."

Richard Kolodziej, president of NGVAmerica, noted that last year natural gas vehicles displaced more than 350 million gallons of petroleum in the United States.

"More and more manufacturers are providing natural gas vehicles because their customers are asking for them," said Kolodziej. "When you have companies such as AT&T and Ryder, whose vehicles are on display here today, and many others, you know that these vehicles are proven and reliable. And, most importantly to fleets, their fuel costs are much lower. This is good for jobs, for the environment and for the country."