Energy

Energy

Energy Independence

Affordable energy is essential for economic growth and sustainable family budgets. To help make energy more affordable—and create jobs in the process—Congress should enact a comprehensive national energy policy.

To ease the pain at the pump and at the electric meter—and to free our nation from dependence on foreign oil—we must work toward energy independence. We should develop new supplies of domestically available, affordable energy, including oil, natural gas, nuclear and coal. That means developing new sources of oil in Alaska, on the Outer Continental Shelf and from shale in the West.  We should encourage the development of technologies that allow us to use our vast supply of coal in a more environmentally-responsible manner. And we should continue to develop our massive natural gas reserves. 

We must also develop and deploy alternative energy sources and technologies including wind, solar, geothermal and biomass energy. Reliable, emission-free nuclear power must also be part of the equation, and we should work to dispose of waste through a central disposal site or by reprocessing.

Obtaining energy independence is a key component to economic recovery. Click here to learn basic ways you can conserve energy and reduce your energy bills at home.

H.R. 4480, the Domestic Energy and Jobs Act

I voted for the Domestic Energy and Jobs Act when it passed the House by a vote of 248 to 163.  This legislation will help lower fuel costs and create good-paying American jobs. First, this legislation would put several costly and potentially burdensome Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations on hold while an interagency committee conducts an analysis on the potential costs and consequences of these rules.  To me, it is unthinkable that we wouldn’t ask agencies to consider the impact of a regulation on jobs and the economy, particularly at a time of such economic uncertainty.  

To boost our energy production, Domestic Energy and Jobs Act will require the Secretary of Interior to act on oil and natural gas lease applications, and will cut red tape on opening up new reserves in Alaska.  This legislation would also restrict the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) from being tapped unless the administration develops a plan to allow more leases to explore for additional sources of oil.  Lastly, this legislation would require the Secretary of Interior to establish an all-of-the-above energy program for federal lands by reviewing the nation’s energy needs and then establishing goals to meet those needs by utilizing all available resources including: oil, natural gas, coal, wind and solar.

The legislation currently awaits action in the Senate.

Global Warming

In an effort to penalize those who use carbon-intensive energy, particularly coal, some in Congress are trying to enact a so-called “cap-and-trade” or “cap-and-tax” system or a national carbon energy tax to lower greenhouse gas emissions.  You can be certain I will be outspoken in my opposition to this proposal.  I am certain that enacting a national energy tax will be devastating to our economy.  In addition to raising consumers’ energy bills, this tax will make everything produced in the United States more expensive, thus reducing our global competitiveness.  This will cost American jobs, particularly in the manufacturing sector and I won’t stand idly by and watch it happen.
 
On June 26, 2009, when Congress considered H.R. 2454, I voted and spoke in opposition to this proposal.  You can click here to read my speech on the House floor.  Although it passed in the House of Representatives, the Senate did not consider this proposal and it has yet to be considered again in the new Congress.