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Reps push energy proposal |
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Friday, 25 July 2008 |
By WILLIAM LANEY
Staff Writer
WASHINGTON — Three U.S. representatives from Ohio support the four-pronged approach in a Republican proposal to bridge America’s energy needs from fossil fuels to alternative sources.
House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester, along with U.S. Reps. Bob Latta, R-Bowling Green, and Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, recently visited two sites — one working on alternative and renewable energy sources and the north shores of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) — in an effort to gain national support for the American Energy Act.
The goal of the American Energy Act, proposed by Boehner and 83 co-sponsors, is to “increase production, innovate clean and renewable energy, increase supply and encourage efficiency.”
The proposed legislation calls for oil exploration in the ANWR region and for lifting moratoriums on drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf as well as finalizing regulations for oil-shale development. Revenue from new oil and natural gas leases would be used create a trust fund to support alternative fuels. The legislation also extends production tax credits for wind, solar and hydrogen power.
“I think we do need to increase our investment in alternative fuels such as wind, solar, total liquid technology, bio-mass, but clearly it is going to be some time before these sources can meet the majority of our energy needs,” Boehner said Thursday in a teleconference. “In the meantime, I think we need to make sure we can develop and produce our own oil and natural gas so we can stop depending on foreign sources of energy.
“It is clear from what we saw up in Alaska that wildlife and environmentally safe energy production can successfully coexist,” he said after the trio visited the region during a recent trip.
Boehner claimed the energy producers in the region “have great respect for the land and for the native way of life.” He said companies are continuously looking for technology to improve oil production and to reduce the footprint on the environment.
Drillers would require 2,000 acres of the ANWR’s 19 million acres for oil rig pads, pipeline and roads.
Boehner, Latta and Jordan also traveled to the National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden, Colo., where they saw scientists and engineers “perfecting the next generation of alternative fuels.”
The House Minority Leader said Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, have kept the legislation from moving forward, Boehner claimed. Boehner would like to see the bill passed during the next eight days so it can be sent to Bush prior to Congress’ August recess.
Pelosi, D-Calif., repeatedly says votes on drilling in protected areas would not be held.
“They may call it an ‘all-of-the-above’ energy plan, but it looks like the ‘all-too-familiar’ Bush-Cheney failed energy policies that got us to the $4-a-gallon gas prices today,” Drew Hammill, a spokesman for Pelosi, told the Washington, D.C.-based newspaper, The Hill.
“This plan fails to include a key short-term tool to reduce prices in two weeks rather than two decades — calling to free our oil by releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.”
Latta supported Boehner in Congress acting now on the legislation.
While noting reports indicate between 9 and 15 billion barrels of oil in the region, Latta said tapping into this resource and having it flow through the Alaskan pipeline is important for another reason.
At its peak, the pipeline pumped 2.1 million barrels of oil each day, while today 700,000 barrels of oil flows in the pipeline each day.
He said if the number drops to 300,000 barrels of oil or less that executives would call for the pipeline to be shut down.
Latta claimed the Alaskan pipeline provides 17 percent of the United States’ domestic production.
“We have got to make sure we have this pipeline, that we keep oil in it and we make sure prices are kept low in this country,” Latta said during the teleconference. “The only way we are going to do that is by conserving more, producing more and also using alternatives.”
He said ANWR oil could be piped to the Alaskan pipeline.
Jordan said the time has come for members of Congress to address an issue the American people have faced for some time.
“The American people get it — they realize we need more supply, they realize we need to be doing all of the above in the American Energy Act and I think, quite frankly, more and more politicians are going to get it,” Jordan said. “There is an old line that most politicians don’t see the light, they feel the heat, and I think more and more members of Congress are feeling the heat from their people back home.
“I think when we head home for August recess that you are going to see a number of members who are going to hear from families and small business owners about the need for more energy,” he said. “I think the American people understand that we need more supply to bring down the price, we need more supply to help the American economy and we need to focus on all of the above strategies — so it can help with our immediate and intermediate needs but also by promoting alternatives for the long run.” |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 30 July 2008 )
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