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Energy and Gas Prices
High gasoline prices are causing hardship for families, schools, businesses, and manufacturers in Alabama. It is my belief that the U.S. is too dependent on expensive foreign oil. There are a variety of possible solutions and we have the power to begin to achieve our own “energy independence.”
The U.S. has massive domestic oil and natural gas resources offshore and in Alaska. A 2006 Department of Interior study estimated reserves of 8.5 billion barrels of oil and 29.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) alone. However, by law, many of these areas are currently off-limits to exploration. While nuclear power is a dependant and abundant source of energy, the U.S. is lagging behind France, China, and India in the construction of nuclear power plants. We cannot afford to ignore these domestic sources of energy any longer.
I have joined my colleagues in signing a discharge petition demanding a vote on the No More Excuses Energy Act (H.R. 3089). Passage of this legislation would allow for more domestic oil and natural gas production, help open new refineries, speed the construction of nuclear power plants, and promote clean coal and alternative energy. In addition, I plan to join my colleagues in demanding votes on other energy-related bills that permit responsible exploration in selected areas in the Alaskan coastal plain and the deep seas, promote innovative technologies like coal-to-liquid fuel and oil shale, and repeal burdensome government regulations that are pushing up the price of gasoline.
Finally, Alabama can be proud of the leadership that it is taking in the development of alternative fuels. The I-65 Clean Corridor Initiative is one such example.
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