In his monthly update on the level of foreign oil imports in the U.S., energy expert T. Boone Pickens said that based on the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA), the U.S. imported 65 percent of its oil, or 369 million barrels in April 2010, sending approximately $31 billion, or $719,157 per minute, to foreign countries.

“We spent more—$31 billion—on foreign oil in the month of April than any other month yet in 2010.  That’s more than a billion dollars a day and a sad step in the wrong direction,” said Pickens.  “As the economy recovers, demand and prices will continue to increase.  Instead of enriching other countries, we need to get off OPEC oil and make better use of our own abundant supply of natural gas.  Using natural gas as a transportation fuel is a non-partisan issue, and now is the time to act.”

Currently, there is bipartisan legislation in both the House and Senate that would advance the use of natural gas.  H.R. 1835 and S. 1408 (The NAT GAS Act) and The American Power Act, unveiled last week, all contain language that would replace foreign oil/diesel/gasoline with cleaner, abundant domestic natural gas in America’s heavy duty fleets.