Energy

ENERGY

         Today, we face one of our greatest challenges - securing clean, domestic energy for our continued economic growth and national security. We simply cannot continue to depend on foreign sources of oil for our energy needs. We need to build on our efforts to help achieve energy independence and recognize that good energy policy is also good environmental policy.  We have an abundance of energy right here but the EPA is doing all it can to stifle the production of petroleum, natural gas, and clean coal. 

        I agree that we need more conservation, efficiency, and production of domestically available fuels. We can invest in research and development of alternative and renewable sources - such as wind, solar, biomass, and coal to liquids, but we cannot yank the rug out from under our main sources of energy.  We need to solve the nuclear waste issue and build more carbon-free nuclear power plants for electricity generation. 

EXPOSING FLAWED SCIENCE BEHIND EPA’S JOB KILLING REGLULATIONS 

         As Chairman of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, through hearings and letters, I have rigorously questioned the flood of EPA rules that would cripple the energy sector, including the Cross State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR), Utility Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT), and Tier III/E15. These rules destroy jobs and cost taxpayers billions of dollars in increased energy prices.

        This Administration, utilizing the EPA, has circumvented scientific integrity, openness, and transparency in an attempt to justify proposed job-killing regulations.  The EPA regularly fails to analyze and communicate scientific uncertainties, refuses to make key scientific data publicly available, inflates health benefits while understating actual economic costs, and short-changes the peer review process.

        Taking action to slow the EPA’s onslaught of new rules, the Committee successfully approved a bill requiring EPA to comprehensively assess scientific and technical research on gasoline blends with up to 15 percent ethanol (E15), before such fuels may be approved for consumer use, in order to prevent damage to car and other small engines.

        The Committee has worked to ensure that hazard characterizations and risk assessments are conducted by EPA and Health and Human Services using sound science and modern techniques.  Absent scientific rigor and appropriate oversight, these precursors could lead to regulations that would unnecessarily kill jobs and economic development, without any appreciable benefit.

PROMOTING AMERICAN ENERGY PRODUCTION AND JOB GROWTH

        The American Energy Initiative is an ongoing effort by House Republicans to reduce gasoline prices and promote energy security by expanding American energy production. This initiative will lower energy costs, grow our economy, and create jobs.  I am committed to a true all-of-the-above energy strategy to boost our economy by increasing American energy production.

        The Committee held two important hearings on hydraulic fracturing, exposing a number of uninformed allegations and misleading attacks by opponents, including the EPA.  The EPA has used a biased, non-transparent, non-peer reviewed process in attempting to regulate this method of natural gas extraction.

        The Committee has exposed Administration efforts to terminate Yucca Mountain’s nuclear license application, without any scientific justification - manipulating process and suppressing science to advance the President’s pre-determined decision to shut down Yucca. A comprehensive Republican staff report outlined the results of two years of investigation by the Committee and concluded that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, led by Chairman Jaczko, has intentionally delayed the release of a safety report conducted by technical experts on Yucca Mountain that overwhelmingly supports the site as a safe repository for nuclear waste for 500,000 years.

       The Committee has conducted diligent oversight of DOE’s clean technology initiatives, advocating for transparent and reasonable investments that utilize the free market, rather than allowing the Government to pick technology winners and losers.

ULTRA-DEEP DRILLING

        My Ultra-deepwater bill, which established a research and development program to produce new technologies to drill in ultra-deep areas of the Gulf and on land, was approved several years ago by Congress. This program holds great promise for new technologies that will allow us to tap the nearly 50 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil remaining in this country.  New technologies will increase domestic energy supplies, which will lower energy costs to consumers.   These technologies will enable less expensive, more efficient, and more environmentally-friendly domestic natural gas production. 

ENERGY SOLUTIONS I HAVE SUPPORTED THIS CONGRESS

        As a longtime supporter of comprehensive energy solutions, I was pleased to vote for the bills below, which promote common sense jobs plans and generate new revenue at a time when families and job creators need it most.  These bills offer real solutions for job creation and economic growth by expanding American energy production. This is not a short-term stimulus, but a long-term plan that invests in the future of our country.  By removing energy barriers, America can decrease its dependence on foreign oil, improve national security, and lower energy prices.   

        Energy Tax Prevention Act(H.R. 910) – Passed the House on 4/7/2011 by a vote of 255-172.  H.R. 910 would prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from regulating greenhouse gases (GHG) to address climate change under the Clean Air Act.   This legislation was considered in response to efforts by the EPA to regulate greenhouse gases and administratively implement a “cap-and-tax” system—a system similar to the one that Democrats failed to advance in the 111^th Congress.

Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act(H.R. 1230) – Passed the House on 5/5/11 by 266-149 – requires the Secretary of the Interior to conduct offshore lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and offshore Virginia that have been delayed or canceled by the Obama Administration.

Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act(H.R. 1229) – Passed the House on 5/11/11 by 263-163 – would end the de facto moratorium on American energy production in the Gulf of Mexico in a safe and transparent manner by setting firm timelines for considering new drilling permits.

Reversing President Obama’s Offshore Moratorium Act(H.R. 1231) – Passed the House on 5/12/11 by 243-179 – would lift the president’s ban on new offshore drilling by allowing new production to go forward in areas containing the most oil and natural gas resources.

Jobs and Energy Permitting Act of 2011(H.R. 2021) – Passed the House on 6/22/11 by 253-166 – would help end permitting delays by the Obama administration and unlock access to an estimated 27 billion barrels of oil and 132 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in Alaska.

North American-Made Energy Security Act(H.R. 1938) – Passed the House on 7/26/11 by 279-147 – would have required a decision by President Obama on the popular Keystone XL pipeline, which he eventually rejected and personally lobbied Democratic Senators to oppose.

Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation (TRAIN) Act(H.R. 2401) – Passed the House on 9/23/11 by 249-169 - would require a study of the cumulative impacts of Obama administration rules on jobs, energy prices, and electric reliability, and would stop implementation of two of the most damaging rules for coal and coal-fired power.

Protecting Next Generation Energy Security (PIONEERS) Act(H.R. 3408) – Passed the House on 2/16/12 by 237-187 – would expand offshore energy production, open less than 3% of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska, promote development of U.S. oil shale on government land, and require approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline. 

Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act(H.R. 2842) – Passed the House on 3/7/12 by 265-154 – would help expand production of clean, renewable hydropower by cutting red tape and getting government out of the way.