Issue Position: Energy & Environment

Issue Position

Energy

Texas families, small businesses, airlines, schools, and law enforcement officials are being hammered by volatile fuel prices. Yet, the solution to our energy problems is straightforward -- America needs to find more sources of energy and use less of it.

Unfortunately, Congress has focused too often on gimmicks aimed at scoring political points instead of real solutions. Suing OPEC, mandating longer lasting light bulbs, windfall profits taxes and punishing American companies for producing energy and jobs here at home not only doesn't work, energy costs go up on working families and small businesses. Instead of preventing companies from leasing new federal lands, perpetuating moratoriums that have forced 11 rigs to leave the Gulf of Mexico and stopping coastal states from sharing in revenue generated from off-shore oil exploration, we should be embracing an 'All of the Above' energy strategy for America.

More American-made Energy -- Not More Games, Solyndras or taxpayer subsidized cars

For a few years now, I, and my House Republican colleagues, have been fighting for a common-sense solution: More American-made energy to lower prices. Our goal is simple. America needs to take responsibility for producing 2/3rds of the energy we need each day, ending our dependence on foreign oil. Because Washington has failed to act, today we rely on foreign nations for over 60% of our daily needs and we grow dangerously more dependent each year. That's a costly mistake, today and for the future.

Let's take the first step in ending our reliance on foreign oil by producing more energy here at home and creating new jobs. I support development of:

Traditional forms of energy. We need to unlock the vast resources of America's deep oceans, the U.S. arctic reserve and oil shale of the Midwest and Rocky Mountains. By exploring more, we could displace all the oil we currently import from unstable and unfriendly nations. It is estimated that our own resources could provide:

Oceans: 3 million barrels of oil per day

Arctic: 1 million barrels of oil per day

Oil shale: 2.5 million barrels of oil per day

In June 2013, I introduced the More Energy, More Jobs Act, which will - for the first time - give state governors the authority to nominate areas off their coasts for oil and gas development. Later in June, my More Energy, More Jobs Amendment was adopted as an amendment for the Offshore Energy & Jobs Act, which was passed by the House.

I was pleased that both Congress and the President lifted the long-standing moratorium on exploring for more energy off our coastlines. However, that was just the first step. We still need to get permitting up to speed and keep exploring ways to unlock our domestic energy supplies while respecting the needs of our environment. We must eliminate overly burdensome laws and regulations that stand in the ways of our country's energy independence.

Clean technology. America has vast resources of affordable coal, but it's dirty. Fortunately, technologies exist that can take coal and turn it into super clean liquid fuel for our gas tanks; we just need to help it along.
House Republicans have pushed for doubling the U.S. nuclear energy supply by investing in the industry and enacting modern safety features -- all with zero air emissions.

I support tax incentives to spur development of traditional energy, as well as solar, wind and bio-fuels. I also support the Keystone XL Pipeline, which many have called the largest shovel-ready project in North America. The President was wrong to deny the permit and the good paying energy jobs it would have created.

I've also supported efforts to create research opportunities for clean, renewable fossil fuel technologies.

Conservation. We all can do our part by using less energy and conserving more.

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