Congressman Lamar Smith 21st district of Texas

Energy and Gas Prices

Our energy challenges affect both the country’s immediate economic health and our long-term security and competitiveness. During these difficult economic times, higher gasoline prices and utility bills have caused an additional burden on families already struggling to make ends meet.

GOP All-of-the-Above Energy Plan

Republicans support an all-of-the-above energy approach that includes development of alternative energy sources such as wind, solar, hydropower, nuclear, geothermal and biomass, along with clean coal and American-made oil and natural gas.

In the 112th Congress, the Republican-led House approved legislation to:

• Expand offshore energy production;

• Open Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for oil and gas production;

• Encourage the development of 1.5 trillion barrels of oil shale in the Rocky Mountain West;

• Approve the Keystone XL pipeline project.

The House has approved 8 energy expansion bills that are sitting in the Senate.

Increasing access to American energy sources will create private sector jobs, grow our economy and reduce our nation’s dependence on energy from foreign countries.

Here are some steps to increase American energy production, provide families with relief at the pump, and create American jobs:

Increase Onshore Production: Here in South Texas, onshore production at the Eagle Ford Shale has supported around 12,600 full-time jobs in the region last year alone, according to a study by the Center for Community and Business Research at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

The success of the Eagle Ford Shale could be replicated in areas around the country, but regulations imposed by the Administration are significantly decreasing onshore oil and gas production.  Since 2005, Bureau of Land Management oil and gas leasing in the Rocky Mountain West has fallen by 67 percent. 

Utilize Natural Gas Resources: I support the development of natural gas as an energy resource: it’s clean, low-cost, reliable, and readily available. It is versatile because it can be used for industrial and residential heating, power generation, and as fuel for the growing transportation sector. There are large, untapped natural gas deposits right here in the U.S.  Increasing domestic exploration and production would help reduce our dependence on foreign oil. 

Support Offshore Drilling: After the oil spill in the Gulf, the Administration placed a moratorium on new shallow and deepwater drilling permits.  But since the moratoriums were lifted, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) has issued only 37 new shallow water permits and one new permit for deepwater exploration. The Administration should act now to expedite the drilling permit process and immediately restore shallow and deepwater drilling operations in the Gulf of Mexico. I recently co-sponsored a bipartisan resolution in the House, calling on the Secretary of the Interior to address America’s energy needs and streamline the approval of drilling permit applications. 

Keep up to date and follow the American Energy Initiative on Facebook here and follow Congressman Lamar Smith’s work on increasing our domestic energy supply here.