House Republicans Introduce Plan to Address Energy Security

Press Release

House Republicans Introduce Plan to Address Energy Security

Today, House Republicans released an energy legislation package that is a product of the House Energy Security and Climate Change Task Force, who developed the legislation after four months of hearing from experts in the energy industry.

"With record-setting prices at the pump, Americans are desperate for real relief," said Conaway. "By cutting through the bureaucratic red tape and increasing the supply of domestic energy, prices at the pump will significantly decrease."

The Republican plan for energy security will increase the production of domestic energy in an environmentally-safe manner. This includes the exploration of oil, natural gas, and coal and the production of alternative nuclear and renewable energy from sources such as wind and hydroelectric power for future generations.

Conaway went on to say, "The House majority has passed bill after bill that will increase costs to generate energy, and yet my Democrat colleagues continuously complain about the high prices that are a direct result of the policies they put in place. In fact, earlier this week, the House passed a bill to unleash the Department of Justice on the very producers that we want to produce more crude oil and natural gas. It is past time to get serious about real energy reform."

Contributing to the task force, Conaway, along with Congressman Jeb Hensarling (TX-5), discussed a bill they introduced (HR 5656) to repeal section 526 of the Majority-led "No" Energy bill that raises economic and national security concerns. Section 526 was included in the Energy bill mainly to prevent the Department of Defense from buying coal-based jet fuels, which environmentalists insist produce more greenhouse gases than traditional petroleum. However, this theory is not proven and does not account for our current ongoing improvements in carbon-capture technologies.

"It is irrational to place new energy restrictions on the DOD during an energy crisis," said Conaway. "We must work for greater energy independence and that means keeping all options open. In preventing the procurement of American produced resources, Section 526 will increase our reliance on Middle East oil."

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