Energy

Since President Obama took office, gas prices have doubled and domestic energy production has decreased. As a consumer in Georgia, I know how the impact of rising gas prices is affecting everyone around the state. This steady price increase causes hardworking families to make very important and difficult budgeting choices for themselves. In addition to hurting families, rising gas prices are also hurting small businesses, costing jobs, and threatening our economic recovery.  

I support an “all of the above” energy strategy for America. The current administration has consistently opposed initiatives to increase domestic production of abundant U.S. fossil fuel resources. Instead of approving the required presidential permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, the Obama Administration approved taxpayer funded loan guarantees to economically unviable corporations like Solyndra, Inc, which filed for bankruptcy without repaying American taxpayers. The Obama Administration’s energy policies have consistently placed ideology ahead of American energy development.

This is why the Republican Majority in the House has launched the American Energy Initiative. Through a series of bills that have passed the House floor, House Republicans have demonstrated commitment to creating jobs and increasing American energy production. According to Dr. Joseph Mason, a Louisiana State University economist, the American Energy Initiative could create 250,000 jobs in the short-term and 1.2 million jobs in the long-term. 

Increased energy production will infuse supply of oil into the global marketplace that will inevitably lead to lower prices at the pump. Three bills within the American Energy Initiative – H.R. 1229, the Putting the Gulf Back to Work Act, H.R. 1230, the Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act, and H.R. 1231, the Reversing President Obama's Offshore Moratorium Act – would all expand offshore energy production that would help us tap into the 85 billion barrels of oil that exist in the Outer Continental Shelf and the 240,000 barrels of oil per day that could be extracted from the Gulf of Mexico. In addition, the House passed H.R. 3408, the PIONEERS Act, which would instruct the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to issue a permit of approval for the Keystone XL pipeline project within 30 days of receipt of the application. If action is not taken within 30 days, the permit is deemed approved. I am proud to have co-sponsored these four pieces of legislation.

While increased domestic production will alleviate our immediate energy problems, it will not, on its own, sustain America in the long run. An “all of the above” energystrategy calls for continued alternative energy innovation to ensure our nation always has access to the fuel we need. Clean energy alternatives are good for the environment and good for our wallets. By diversifying America’s energy supply, we can ensure that increased costs in one area don't cause prices to jump across the nation.  

The time to act is now. We simply cannot afford to stand around and talk about what isn't being done while fuel prices continue to climb. The American Energy Initiative provides a commonsense approach to alleviate the pain at the pump while creating jobs here in the United States.