Energy Policy Statement: a Two Pronged Approach to the National Energy Crisis

Statement

Energy Policy Statement: A Two Pronged Approach To The National Energy Crisis

by Assemblywoman Sharron Angle, Congressional Candidate District Two

Many factors such as China and India's expanded oil consumption, America's dependence on foreign oil, concerns about supply disruptions in the Middle East, Nigeria and Venezuela caused by unstable governments, and speculation by investors in oil have combined to heighten a fuel crisis. Volatile gasoline prices must be addressed with both short-term efforts and long-term energy policy changes that reduce America's dependence on foreign sources of oil.

SHORT TERM EFFORTS

1. I support a temporary moratorium on gas taxes to provide some immediate relief to the consumer at the gas pump. As a member of the state legislature, I led efforts and introduced legislation to reduce our state gas tax, the second highest in the nation. Eight percent of the $286.4 billion Highway bill signed in 2005 was allocated for 6,376 pork projects, such as the infamous Alaska "bridge to nowhere". By banning the practice of earmarking as Congress did in 1914, the gas tax could be reduced without injury to highway projects.

2. By lifting temporarily or repealing those burdensome governmental regulations on domestic refineries, we can streamline the production process and lower costs for consumers. Reducing the number of boutique fuel blends from the more than 17 blends now produced will allow for better use and lower costs of processing time and fuel distribution. President Bush's suspension of EPA regulations temporarily allowed refineries to produce fewer blends, allowing fuel prices to fall across the nation. When Congress passed the energy bill last year, it mandated dropping MTBE and substituting ethanol into gasoline blends, a move that raised pump prices and created gasoline shortages. Ethanol producers overstated their capacity for making ethanol, and ethanol can add 5-8 cents per gallon to the cost of gasoline. I introduced legislation in the state legislature that would lower emissions while increasing gas mileage. I will continue to fight for this kind common sense legislation in Congress.

LONG TERM EFFORTS

1. As a long-term policy, America must expand its own domestic oil sources so we are not as dependent on foreign countries. By supplying more of our own energy needs we will strengthen our national security and reduce energy costs. Further diversification of traditional energy sources combined with expanded use of alternative energy sources will stabilize energy prices and provide energy protection.

* The US has remarkable reserves of natural gas. Extraction technology has improved significantly since the imposition of the 1981 moratorium that put 85% of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) off-limits to oil and gas production. I support legislation to allow states to opt-out of the moratorium and do OCS oil drilling. In the potential OCS natural gas fields, drilling should be allowed because there are minimal environmental hazards.
* We need to expand exploration and development of domestic oil sources by opening Area 1002 of ANWR which was set aside for this purpose in 1980. This area possesses high oil and gas potential and with today's technology the environmental impact of drilling this area would be minimal. Oil production could nearly equal our daily imports from Saudi Arabia.
* We should encourage research to develop new methods to tap the more than 1 trillion barrels of oil in shale and sand deposits on U.S. federal lands that contains more oil than the entire Middle East.

2. Presently, the entire global supply chain that produces, transports and refines oil has little slack capacity. No refinery has been built in the U.S. since 1976 resulting in 47% of American refining capacity being located on the Gulf of Mexico. We must add refining capacity by streamlining the refinery permitting process that now requires 10 years or more of environmental regulatory red tape, offer refiners risk insurance, and provide faster write-offs for investments in new or expanded refineries. This includes encouraging expansion of the oil field and refinery in Railroad Valley, Nevada.

3. Research and development of alternative sources of energy funded by tax incentives needs to be partnered with energy companies.

* Nevada has a biodiesel plant under construction in Minden and is making ethanol from potato waste from the farms near Winnemucca.
* Increasing electrical energy availability by encouraging off-peak electrical consumption and developing alternative electricity sources. Nevada has been exploring these alternatives by furnishing wood chips from the Lockwood landfill to Honey Lake Power to make electricity. Geothermal wells are being harnessed in Fallon for electricity. Converting old tires into a fuel is being considered at Wendover to fuel electric power generation. Coal gasification is a technology, that is clean burning by capturing all emissions, used to drive electricity turbines by day and during off-peak night hours produces fertilizer bi-products and other chemical products.
* Vehicle fuel efficiency and alternative fuel vehicles is a third area of long term fuel production and conservation. South Africa developed syngas, a synthetic diesel gasoline from coal using a WWII German technology that is profitable at $30 per barrel. Hydrogen, and lithium battery operated car technologies all become feasible as the price of oil rises which should be incentive to auto manufacturers to design for fuel efficiency in vehicles that get 30 mpg or more. Lithium is being extracted from salt beds at Silver Peak and is the main component in long life batteries for vehicles.

In conclusion, I will work to remove the excesses of government pork by reducing the burden of taxation on fuel. I will not support new taxes on energy companies that ultimately require citizens to bear that tax burden, nor will I support the government's ability to expand its already extravagant spending binges based on these proposed new taxes. Past windfall taxes were counterproductive and discouraged domestic production and increased dependence on foreign imports, and a new windfall profit tax would harm the retirement savings of tens of millions of savers and retirees. I also will not support subsidies for fuel additives. Washington makes consumers pay twice for higher gas prices by saddling them with billions of dollars of corporate welfare in the form of subsidies.

I will support incentives such as regulatory moratoriums and tax breaks that encourage companies to quickly meet the demands of this crisis and develop new resources to meet future needs. Private investors should be allowed to invest their capital where alternatives to fossil fuels can be price competitive.

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