John Boehner 8TH DISCTRICT OF OHIO

Today, President Obama traveled to Menomonee Falls to tout the ‘success’ of the ‘clean energy’ portion of his trillion-dollar ‘stimulus’ but new reports – highlighted by The Hill newspaper - show little to cheer about.  In fact, most of the ‘green energy’ money hasn’t even gone out the door.  According to the Department of Energy’s own internal watchdog, “ … only 8.4 percent of the total had been used by grant recipients after more than a year.”  Furthermore, according to one of those reports, “Spending delays were ‘prevalent and widespread throughout the Program,’ particularly by those receiving the largest grants of more than $2 million each.” 

A report in last weekend’s Washington Post has more:

“Take, for instance, three programs meant to improve energy efficiency and produce ‘green jobs.’ The $5 billion program for weatherizing low-income homes is recovering from a slow start as officials wrestled with rules on wages and historic preservation, and as providers struggled to expand capacity.

“Only 3,000 homes were weatherized last summer, a sliver of the program's goal of 600,000 by March 2012. The pace has picked up, with 25,000 now being weatherized monthly. Still, barely a quarter of the funds were spent by the end of last month. Moving more slowly are two other energy-efficiency initiatives, one for states and one for cities and counties. Of their combined $6.3 billion, $556 million had been spent by the end of July.” 

In response, the White House has tried to speed the spending, with limited results:   

The IG still concluded that rapid spending of the funds ‘was hampered by numerous administrative and regulatory challenges associated with implementing a new program’ at the federal, state and local levels.

An Aug. 4 IG report indicated ‘a number of issues’ needing to be addressed before the remaining $3.4 billion of $32.7 billion in contracts and grants for science, energy and environmental programs can be doled out.

As of July 9, the department had obligated 90 percent of that $32.7 billion. But less than half intended for a couple of major projects had been spent and none of the programs covered under the stimulus plan had all funding obligated.”

In one case, the rush to spend taxpayer funds caused a backlash that stopped the project entirely.  “The day after the IG delivered its report to senior DOE officials, the department announced that $1 billion in stimulus money was being awarded to the revised version of the long-planned and troubled “FutureGen” project, a prototype coal-fired power plant that would trap and store almost all of its carbon dioxide emissions.  But Mattoon, Ill., the town that was to house the FutureGen project, subsequently rejected the project revisions after seeing its role change and shrink.”

When the ‘stimulus’ passed, the White House promised it would create jobs ‘immediately’ and keep the unemployment rate below eight percent.  Instead, more than two-and-a-half million more Americans have lost their jobs, and unemployment is near double digits.  There is a better way.  House Republicans have offered a plan to save $266 billion by cancelling the unspent ‘stimulus’ funds, and using that money to reduce the federal government’s staggering deficit. 

The project would result in a net decrease in greenhouse gas emissions and significantly lower the nitrogen oxide expelled by the steel mill, the [Air Products] states.

However, the federal American Power Act, also known as “cap and trade,” which is meant to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 17 percent by 2020, has current wording that would require Air Products to purchase allowances for its emissions — even though the gases are a byproduct of AK Steel’s operations.

It’s an added expense that [Air Products Senior Business Development Manager Joe Terrible] said would make the project unfeasible.

With all the policies that are being put out there by President Obama and the Democrats in Congress, employers are frozen.  It’s the national energy tax with mandates, higher energy prices, and higher taxes.  Health care, more mandates, higher prices and more tax increases. Things like card check; all the spending all the debt; and when there is that much uncertainty employers just freeze.  And the result of this is corporate America has more cash reserves in the bank than we’ve seen in 30 years.  They are afraid to move forward because they don’t know what is coming next. [Audio]

It will make 70 percent of the city’s electric consumption renewable.

It will mean even lower rates for residents and add stability to a volatile and highly competitive utility market.

And, after years of perseverance and mounds of paperwork, it all will start next month.
Ground will be broken May 1 on the $500 million hydroelectric plant at the Meldahl Lock & Dam in Bracken County, Ky., city officials announced Tuesday, April 20.

The city was actually given the nod to build and operate the half-billion-dollar facility by FERC in June 2008. The interim has been spent applying for permits, conducting studies and doing preliminary work on site. The pace picked up last month thanks to the help of Congressman John Boehner (R-West Chester) and U.S. Senators George Voinovich and Sherrod Brown, Young said.

[Hamilton Deputy City Manager Charles Young] said Boehner, especially, has been helpful in leading Hamilton “through the labyrinths of the federal government” for project licensing and permitting.

The Meldahl Dam project is just one example of the types of projects Congressman Boehner and House Republicans are calling for as a part of their “all of the above” energy strategy to:

• Increase domestic oil and natural gas production;
• Expand the use of alternative and renewable fuels;
• Set a goal of building 20 new nuclear plants in 20 years; and much more.

This common-sense plan stands in stark contrast to the “cap-and-trade” national energy tax House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and her fellow Washington Democrats’ are proposing that will raise energy costs and kill American jobs.  Republicans’ “all of the above” strategy not only means more jobs and lower energy prices for Ohio families, but it’s also the fastest route to a cleaner, more reliable energy future.  To read more, click here.

Yesterday afternoon Congressman Boehner met with leaders from the City of Hamilton in his Washington, D.C., office to discuss progress with licensing and approval for a proposed hydroelectric plan that will produce abundant, affordable clean energy.

Pictured with Congressman Boehner from left to right include: Mark Brandenburger (Director of Special Projects), Bob Brown (Council Member), Carla Fiehrer (Council Member), Scott Owens (LNE Group), Mike Perry (VP AMP Ohio), and Charles Young (Dep City Manager). 

The City of Hamilton and partner AMP-Ohio, a non-profit wholesale energy supplier, are currently awaiting final approval on permitting from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on a $500 million hydroelectric project at Meldahl Dam on the Ohio River.  City leaders say that clean, affordable energy from the plant will spur job creation and economic development in the area.  The Oxford Press reports:

“The Meldahl facility will increase Hamilton’s clean, hydroelectric power source to nearly 75 percent, and city officials are hopeful that businesses will be lured to relocate to the city, where energy costs are already the lowest in the state, according to previous reports.”

Congressman Boehner supports projects like the Meldahl hydroelectric plant as a part of House Republicans’ “all of the above energy strategy” that will:

• Increase domestic oil and natural gas production;
• Expand the use of alternative and renewable fuels;
• Set a goal of building 20 new nuclear plants in 20 years; and much more.

An “all of the above” strategy not only means more jobs and lower energy prices for Ohio families, but it’s also the fastest route to a cleaner, more reliable energy future.  To read more, click here.

Congressman John Boehner released the following web video today calling on President Obama and House Speaker Pelosi to avoid committing the U.S. to a series of international emissions mandates at the Copenhagen Climate Conference that would devastate the U.S. economy and kill American jobs:

Boehner said:

“At a time when our national unemployment rate is 10 percent, job creation has to be our top priority.  Middle-class families and small businesses are struggling, and they shouldn’t be punished with costly energy policies that will increase electricity bills, raise gasoline prices, and ship more American jobs overseas to places like China and India.”

To read the letter that Congressman Boehner and other House GOP leaders sent to President Obama seeking assurances that he will not commit the United States to a mandatory emissions reduction scheme at Copenhagen, click here.

NOTE: Republicans’ “all of the above” strategy is the fastest route to a cleaner, more reliable energy future.  The GOP plan – the American Energy Act – will clean up the environment, lower energy costs, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and create millions of good-paying, new American jobs.

Read More:

• Boehner to President Obama: Why is Department of Energy Killing Project That Will Create Jobs, Produce Emissions-Free Energy? (10/28/2009)
• Statement on Senate Democrats’ National Energy Tax Proposal (9/30/2009)
• Statement on Speaker Pelosi’s National Energy Tax (6/26/2009)
• Emissions Caps Bad For China But O.K. For U.S. Farmers & Businesses? (6/12/2009)

Congressman Boehner made a pitch for the American Energy Act at this morning’s energy summit in Columbus which focused heavily on creating new jobs. The Dayton Daily News reports:

“Boehner and others … touted their own ‘American Energy Act’ which would include lifting some drilling restrictions, licensing 100 new nuclear reactors over 20 years and using money from expanded domestic energy exploration to support renewable and alternative energy sources.”

The American Energy Act is an “all of the above” plan that would expand American energy production and promote a healthy environment, creating new good-paying jobs along the way.

The alternative is the “cap and trade” national energy tax that passed Congress in June.  Kevin Hotlsberry from Ohio Politics Online attended the summit and described “cap and trade” as “a dagger aimed at the heart of our economy.” He wrote:

“Ohio’s economy would be devastated by Cap and Trade.  And example: it is estimated that there are roughly 35,000 coal related jobs in Ohio.  With Cap and Trade 80% of those jobs would be destroyed by 2030.  And these are high paying jobs in areas of the state that are struggling economically.  This is a serious human impact.

“A small businessman put this in perspective.  He said this was about not having to lay off friends and neighbors; about trying to find a way to give your employees 40 hours a week in a struggling economy.  Cap and Trade would mean less business as his customers pay higher prices, it would mean higher costs for his own company, and it would force him to go overseas to get raw materials and supplies.  This means fewer jobs and those tough conversations with his employees. Not to mention the economic reverberations in the community.”

Please read more about the American Energy Act here and leave your comments your below.

READ MORE:

• Columbus Energy Summit to Examine Competing Proposals (9/1/09)
  American Taxpayers Finance Energy Exploration -- in Brazil (8/19/09)

Tomorrow’s Columbus Energy Summit will examine the costs and consequences of competing energy proposals in Congress, including the Republican American Energy Act and the Democrats’ “cap and trade” national energy tax.

Congressman Boehner will attend the summit which is being hosted by Reps. Bob Latta (OH-5) and Pat Tiberi (OH-12),  and the American Energy Solutions Group.  The Cincinnati Enquirer reports:

“‘Affordable and abundant energy is essential for creating new jobs and helping our economy recover,’ Boehner said.

“‘This summit gives lawmakers an important opportunity to compare the costs and consequences of the Democrats’ jobs-killing policies like ‘cap and trade’ versus an ‘all of the above’ plan that will promote a healthy environment, create new jobs right here in Ohio, and lower prices while boosting production of American energy – including next generation coal, natural gas, and emissions-free nuclear power.’”

American economists are skeptical about the Democrats’ “cap and trade” bill.  Associated Press reported on a new survey that found “[o]nly 15 percent believe cap and trade would significantly cut global emissions, while 56 percent believe the plan would actually boost emissions overseas by pushing business activity to countries with fewer restrictions.”

On the other hand, analysis by the nonpartisan Heritage Foundation says the Republicans’ American Energy Act is a “bill with some real energy in it” that will create “thousands of energy industry jobs” and lower “prices for consumers and businesses.”

An editorial in Investor’s Business Daily notes that it would lead to “100 new nuclear power plants over the next 20 years.” And according to the Toledo Free Press, the American Energy Act “would create a Renewable and Alternative Energy Trust Fund” to invest revenue from new energy production in “biomass, hydroelectric, clean coal, solar, wind, geothermal and other forms of renewable energy.”

Read more about the American Energy Act here and leave your comments your below.

READ MORE:

• American Taxpayers Finance Energy Exploration -- in Brazil (8/19/09)

The Wall Street Journal reports that American taxpayers will be lending billions of dollars to Brazil for deep ocean energy exploration while American companies remain prohibited from exploring our own waters. From the article:

“The U.S. is going to lend billions of dollars to Brazil's state-owned oil company, Petrobras, to finance exploration of the huge offshore discovery in Brazil's Tupi oil field in the Santos Basin near Rio de Janeiro. Brazil's planning minister confirmed that White House National Security Adviser James Jones met this month with Brazilian officials to talk about the loan. ...

“Americans are right to wonder why Mr. Obama is underwriting in Brazil what he won't allow at home.”

With the federal deficit at record levels and unemployment in Ohio and around the nation the highest we’ve seen in a generation, we can no longer afford to keep new, affordable, environmentally-friendly energy under lock and key.  That’s why we need the American Energy Act, legislation supported by Congressman Boehner that will create new jobs and lower energy prices for families and small businesses.

The American Energy Act is an “all of the above” energy policy that will create jobs, lower prices, and increases our domestic supply of energy by lifting restrictions on ANWR, the Outer Continental Shelf, and oil shale in the Mountain West.  The American Energy Act will:

• Increase production of American-made energy in an environmentally-sound manner.
• Promote new, clean and renewable sources of energy such as nuclear, clean-coal-technology, wind and solar energy.
• Establish a national goal to bring 100 new nuclear reactors online over the next 20 years to strengthen America’s commitment to clean, reliable energy.
• Encourage greater efficiency and conservation by extending tax incentives for energy efficiency and rewarding development of greater conservation techniques and new energy sources.
• Cut red-tape and reduce frivolous litigation.

Read more about the American Energy Act here and leave your comments your below.