|
On the Issues
Energy and Gas Prices
The cost of gasoline is posing serious hardships for commuters and other motorists and for our farmers and small business owners. Gas prices are at all-time highs, and crude oil prices have exceeded the previous record set after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast.
The United States will continue to rely on fossil fuel in the short term, but we should carefully weigh the marginal benefit of developing new domestic fossil fuel sources against the associated costs to public health and the environment.
Over the long run, we simply must reduce our dependence on oil – whether from foreign or domestic sources. The goal of federal policy must be to promote the use of renewable and other alternative energy technologies and improve the efficiency of our energy use.
In late December, Congress took a significant step forward by approving the Energy Independence and Security Act, which mandated long overdue improvements in fuel economy standards for vehicles. This change alone will reduce oil consumption by 1.1 million gallons per day in 2020 and lead to a reduction in greenhouse gases equivalent to taking 28 million cars and trucks off the road. The bill also strengthened energy efficiency standards for appliances and “green building,” and it boosted federal research on renewable and alternative energy technologies.
I supported including renewable electricity standards, which would have required power companies to provide 15 percent of their power from renewable energy sources by 2020. But President Bush and Congressional Republicans blocked this effort. I remain hopeful that we can bring back these provisions as a separate bill later in the 110th Congress.
I also support legislation that would reverse tax cuts for oil companies in order to invest in renewable and alternative energy, without increasing the budget deficit.
The high price of gas has led some to reverse their positions on drilling off the North Carolina coast, even though the U.S. Department of Energy has studied the issue and concluded that the oil in protected waters would not be available until 2030, and any effect on oil prices would be “insignificant.” Our coastal resources are simply too valuable to jeopardize by permitting oil and gas drilling in the sensitive waters off of our shores, especially when the impact on gas prices would be "insignificant."
To learn more about the vast amounts of land and water already available to oil and gas companies, which are not under production, I encourage you to read a Special Report by the Committee on Natural Resources.
Related Information
Climate Change
Energy Information Administration (fuel price and supply/demand forecasts)
CRS Report: Gasoline Prices and Federal Legislation
CRS Report: Oil and Gas Subsidies
|
|
U.S. House of Representatives
2162 Rayburn Building
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: 202.225.1784
Fax: 202.225.2014 |
411 W. Chapel Hill Street
NC Mutual Building, 6th Floor
Durham, NC 27701
Phone: 919.688.3004
Fax: 919.688.0940 |
5400 Trinity Road
Suite 205
Raleigh, NC 27607
Phone: 919.859.5999
Fax: 919.859.5998 |
88 Vilcom Center
Suite 140
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Phone: 919.967.7924
Fax: 919.967.8324 |
|
