Affordability and stability

The president says there is little he can do about gasoline prices — while he’s right that we’re part of a world oil market, he’s wrong if he thinks U.S. energy policy doesn’t matter. Americans want an energy policy that promotes and develops affordable and stable sources of energy.

More supplies

Most Americans understand more supplies help decrease prices at the pump — and judging by his recent remarks, it seems like the president does, too.

{mosads}President Obama touts that U.S. energy production is going up, but fails to mention that it’s down on federal lands. Production on federally controlled lands declined from 2010 to 2011 by 14 percent.

He talks about tapping into the strategic petroleum reserve (SPR), but won’t commit to the kind of serious development of our own resources that we need to make our nation’s energy secure.

Since President Obama agrees that additional supply is part of the solution, we have offered common-sense solutions to help.

The Strategic Energy Production Act says that if the president chooses to release oil from the SPR, his administration is required to lease additional federal land for energy development. If the president wants to tap emergency supplies in the short term, he must take steps to replace it and expand American supplies in the long term.

The Keystone XL pipeline is another way America can increase access to secure oil supplies from North Dakota, Montana and Alberta, Canada. Approval of this privately funded project opens the door to new oil markets so we can use the oil and gas in North America instead of from hostile OPEC nations.

Less regulation

We believe Americans deserve an honest accounting of the impact over-regulation is having on our economy.

The Gasoline Regulations Act will help shed light on how Environmental Protection Agency regulations — especially regulations on refineries — affect prices, and will push the pause button on three costly upcoming rules until we understand the consequences to the price at the pump.

This bill is similar to the House-passed TRAIN Act, which requires a cost-benefit analysis of EPA’s power sector rules that threaten new coal-fired electric generation, and the price we pay for energy. 

Responsible investment

In the face of unprecedented debt and unanswered questions, President Obama is urging Congress to “double down” on stimulus programs that have failed to create jobs.

Solyndra was a bad bet from the start that was rushed out the door while every red flag and alarm bell was ignored. According to a review released earlier this month by the Treasury Department’s independent watchdog, the Obama administration was more concerned with sending out a press release heralding Solyndra that it was ensuring the solar company’s loan guarantee was a wise investment. 

Now, three years later, we are still asking “Where are the jobs?” All the Obama administration can produce are volumes of press releases and video footage of staged groundbreakings. 

Our investigation continues as we work to learn the lessons of Solyndra and ensure American taxpayers never again left holding the bag on the administration’s risky bets.

True “all-of-the-above” strategy still absent

The president has adopted House Republicans’ talking points, but he has failed to deliver a true “all-of-the-above” energy plan. In fact, his actions demonstrate a “nothing from below” approach to American energy. President Obama is setting his energy policy through his radical environmental policies. The heavy-handed regulations coming out of this administration are guaranteed to make energy more expensive for Americans — when we are already sending $1 billion per day overseas for foreign oil. 

Last month, EPA proposed new greenhouse gas standards for new coal-fired plants. This rule serves as a de facto ban on new coal-fired electric generation and a national energy tax on American families and businesses.

Another example: EPA is expected to announce new emissions standards for the oil-and-gas industry this week. This rule will expand regulation on hydraulically fractured wells, threatening production of American-made natural-gas and onshore oil supplies.

The president says he wants “all of the above” energy, but his administration is churning out regulations designed to destroy affordable energy production in this country, while allowing other countries to dictate our national energy policy. 

The president refuses to act, so we will continue to lead. The Energy and Commerce Committee is leading the way to reverse job destroying regulations and put our nation on a path to energy security.

Sullivan serves as vice chairman of the House Energy and Power subcommittee.