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ECONOMY Dear Friends, I think we can all agree that the most important issue facing our nation today is the high cost of energy. Earlier this week, Democrats in the House of Representatives passed an energy bill that unfortunately does nothing to address the concerns we all have. Rather than come together with Members from both sides of the aisle, Democrats chose instead to ignore the legislative process and write a bill behind closed doors that does not provide any new domestic production of energy, which is exactly why I voted against it. The bill failed to address the importance of increasing our refinery capacity, opening up well-known oil reserves such as ANWR, or providing incentives to develop clean coal-to-liquids technology. Some claim that the bill opens up the Outer Continental Shelf for oil and gas drilling. Unfortunately, that’s not true. The bill allows states to decide whether to allow drilling off their coasts, a policy I agree with. However, the bill cleverly leaves out any royalty revenue sharing agreements to encourage the States to actually start drilling, ensuring that no production will ever take place in that area. Since states would see no benefit from allowing drilling off their coasts, they simply won’t do it. For several months, I have fought for a vote on the American Energy Act. This bill provides real solutions to many of energy problems we are facing. To learn more about this bill, please click here. Higher energy prices are forcing Americans to tighten their family budgets. The solution is a comprehensive approach that harnesses all of America’s vast resources, including renewable energy such as wind and solar, alternatives like coal-to-liquids and nuclear, as well as oil and natural gas. The American Energy Act includes all of these resources, and many more. I am deeply disappointed that Democrats in the House missed this opportunity to vote on a real energy bill, and instead chose to ignore the will of the people. I will continue to fight every day until we get a vote on the American Energy Act.
Sincerely, |