America is blessed with abundant energy resources. Thanks to new technology and innovation, we are poised to become the world's energy superpower even as our emissions have been declining. If we harness our energy potential in the right way, and let innovation flourish, we will ensure that energy is affordable for consumers and families, help businesses grow and create jobs, protect our environment, strengthen our national security, and increase America's influence around the world.
Affordable, reliable American energy has sparked a manufacturing renaissance, enabling America's small businesses to compete in the global economy. To make the 21st century a New American Century, we must take full advantage of our energy potential. To do that, my plan will:
Optimize America's Resources
* Empower States and Tribes to Control Onshore Energy Development Within Their Borders
* Rewrite the Obama Administration's Flawed Five-Year Offshore Drilling Plan
* Immediately Approve the Keystone XL Pipeline
* Immediately Lift the 1970s-Era Ban on Crude Exports
* Expedite Approval of American Natural Gas Exports
* Defend U.S. Interests in International Climate Negotiations
* Bolster the Energy Security of U.S. Allies
* Conclude TTIP Negotiations Without Restrictions on Access to U.S. Energy Exports
Minimize Government Bureaucracy
* Create a National Regulatory Budget to Limit the Power of Unelected Regulators
* Stop President Obama's Carbon Mandates
* Expose the True Costs of Environmental Litigation to Taxpayers
* Simplify and Improve the Environmental Review Process
Maximize Private Innovation
* Reform Our Outdated Higher Education System to Support Energy Jobs of the Future
* Facilitate Private-Sector-Led Development of New Technologies
* Overhaul the Tax Code and Cut Taxes for Business of All Sizes
Nowhere is the disconnect between the potential of our people and the priorities of politicians as large as in energy. Plans pushed by many Democrats including Hillary Clinton are premised on the outdated and unrealistic notion that our energy potential can only be seized by the federal government handing out subsidies to favored companies and imposing new mandates and taxes on others. No matter which party is in power, Washington picking winners and losers is a recipe for failure.
Rather than distort the market, the government should instead promote competition. Policies that expand access to oil, gas, and coal development can also expand access to the development of wind, solar, nuclear, and hydropower energy. Modernizing regulations and permitting processes will help develop both traditional and alternative energy sources and encourage energy diversity.
Hillary Clinton's energy vision is stuck in the past. Her plans would restrict consumer choice, grow the federal bureaucracy, and make energy more expensive for Americans -- a burden that will fall heavily on seniors, minority communities, and the working poor.
The Clinton-Obama approach has never worked, and never will. Government must focus on the kind of basic research it does well, and let innovators take care of the rest.
To achieve our full energy potential in the 21st century, I will follow three guiding principles: optimizing America's resources, minimizing government bureaucracy, and maximizing private innovation.