Whitfield Outlines Plan for Economic Recovery

Statement

U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield, (KY-01), Chairman of the House Subcommittee on Energy and Power, today released the following statement outlining his plan for an economic recovery focused on reducing the national debt and encouraging domestic energy production.

"Government spending is out of control and it's not enough for the President to say that the proposals outlined in his State of the Union Address won't add a single dime to our national debt. Past performance is the best indicator of future behavior, and despite the President's pledge that he would cut the national debt in half by the end of his first term in office, it has drastically increased from $10.6 trillion on the day of his inauguration to $16.7 trillion today.

"To grow our economy and tackle our nation's debt crisis, we need to shrink the size of government. Government regulations and endless bureaucratic red tape have hampered any sort of economic recovery, specifically in our energy sector. There are many areas which can grow our economy with good-paying private sector jobs, and it starts with coal, oil, gas, nuclear and renewables.

"I am troubled by the President's comments that he would invoke executive orders to implement further regulations on our domestic energy producers as a means to combating climate change. Not only does this circumvent the democratic process and create uncertainty for job creators, the simple truth is that carbon emissions are at their lowest levels in two decades.

"North America can achieve energy independence that will create stable, affordable energy for years to come while also creating countless private sector jobs. However, that is not possible with more regulations by President Obama and his EPA like uneconomic new greenhouse gas emission standards. If they continue down this path of stifling energy production with greenhouse regulations, they're going to have a real battle on their hands.

"I hope the President will choose to partner with Congress to achieve these goals."

For more information, visit whitfield.house.gov.

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