“Our country needs a short and long-term plan to tackle rising gas prices and create a more prosperous future for southern Minnesotans”

Fairmont, MN—Today, Congressman Tim Walz met with business and community leaders in Fairmont to champion short and long-term all-American energy solutions to tackle rising gas prices and create a more prosperous future for southern Minnesotans. 

“Our country needs a short and long term plan to tackle rising gas prices and create a more prosperous future for southern Minnesotans,” said Walz. “In the short-term, we must crack down on reckless oil speculation in the markets that is found to be driving up the cost of gas at the pumps for southern Minnesotans as they drive to work, farm the land, or run their business. In the long-term, we need bipartisan cooperation to embrace a new, all-American energy vision that is a win-win.  My bi-partisan energy bill is a great place to start.”

The vision behind Rep. Walz’s bipartisan energy bill is simple:

1. The big oil companies who are granted the privilege to conduct new offshore oil drilling must take responsibility for helping the country develop new, clean, reliable, and affordable American energy sources to power our county. 
2. Reinvest the royalty payments made by oil companies for new offshore oil drilling into our national strategic priorities, including:

• Develop and deploy next generation clean American energy sources that create jobs and prosperity right here in southern Minnesota.

• Rebuild our economic infrastructure such as roads and bridges right here in southern Minnesota.

“By expanding offshore American oil production and investing in new, clean energy solutions we can speed up our transition to an energy independent future and create all-American jobs right here at home,” said Walz. “Continuing to send our money to countries overseas that hate us just doesn’t make any sense. They will hate us for free. We just need to tap into that can-do American spirit, put our partisan difference aside, and get the job done for the American people.”

Walz spoke about the need to create good-paying jobs in southern Minnesota through proposals like his bipartisan energy bill. His bipartisan bill would invest royalty payments from offshore American oil drilling into new energy technology and would rebuild roads and bridges right here at home.

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