Anyone who is filling their car up at the gas pump is feeling the pain of rising energy costs in our nation and to say the least, folks are frustrated - there is a lot of talk going on in Washington about energy, but not much seems to be getting done. Everyone wants a balanced national energy policy that reduces our nation’s dependency on foreign sources for oil and gas – the disagreement is how we get there.

 

There are some who argue that we only need to use more of the oil available here in our country, while others say we need to focus all our effort on developing alternative energy sources.

 

My position is straightforward –we should be doing everything possible to address this growing problem.  Specifically, we should utilize more of our resources available in this nation including oil, natural gas, coal and nuclear energy to protect our economy and free us from OPEC.

 

That’s why I am a sponsor of H.R. 6001, Main Street USA Energy Security Act.  This legislation provides guidance to set America on a course to become less reliant on foreign energy and provide incentives for exploration and energy access here at home.  The measure seeks to encourage greater domestic production of energy, bring more electricity to the grid, renew development of the nation’s nuclear program, expand cellulosic ethanol technologies, and increase the use of clean coal.  It also provides conservation incentives and supports renewable energy.

 

Even with an increase in oil, our nation has a significant shortage of refinery capacity to make the petroleum products we actually use.  To address this problem, I have signed on as a sponsor to H.R. H.R. 2279, a bill to expand American refining capacity on closed military installations. Ultimately, this legislation would streamline the refinery application process by opening closed military installations to safely house these new refineries. 

 

I also think we need to be moving toward alternative energy sources for the future, and I have voted repeatedly for bills like H.R. 5351, which extends tax incentives for the production and use of alternative energy sources including solar, wind, geothermal and hybrid technology.  The problem we encounter, however, is how do we pay for the research, development and implementation of the new energy?

 

Recently, I introduced H.R. H.R. 6383, The Alternative Energy Advancement, which seeks to increase the development of new alternative energy technologies by diverting all federal proceeds from future oil and gas leases into a newly created Alternative Energy Trust Fund.  It is my hope this legislation can bridge the partisan divide on the energy issue, and we can move toward getting something done.

 

As we work toward solutions to high energy prices, I want to make sure that consumers aren’t illegally gouged.  H.R. 6346, the Federal Price Gouging Prevention Act, protects consumers from potential gasoline price gouging with stiff penalties for offenders.