Hensarling Supports "All of the Above" Energy Policy

Statement

Hensarling Supports "All of the Above" Energy Policy

U.S. Congressman Jeb Hensarling (TX-05) joined over 80 of his colleagues yesterday to introduce the American Energy Act, a bill that is an "all of the above" strategy to increase the supply of American-made energy and decrease the cost of fuel.

"I recently received a letter from a family in the Fifth District describing the challenges of running a small business. Due to the high cost of energy, they are not making a profit," said Hensarling. "They have cancelled their life insurance policies, scaled down on their automobile insurance, and cancelled their cable. In fact, their son and granddaughter have moved in with them, because he can no longer pay for rent, day care, or gas to drive to work."

"Families are feeling the pain and I am dedicated to doing something about it. We need conservation, but not just conservation. We need renewable energy, but not just renewable. We need alternatives, but not just alternatives. We need to produce energy in America for Americans so we can drive down the cost of gas and increase our energy independence."

The American Energy Act (HR 6566) is a single, comprehensive bill that would accomplish all of the above: increase the supply of American-made energy, improve energy conservation and efficiency, and promote renewable and alternative energy technologies.

In addition to supporting American energy exploration and production from our deep sea resources and in arctic Alaska, Congressman Hensarling has introduced legislation (H.R. 5656) to repeal a law that threatens national security and energy security by preventing the government from developing alternative fuel sources from materials that are found abundantly in the United States and Canada, such as coal, oil shale, and tar sands.

As the former offecer of a green energy company, Hensarling recognizes the importance of renewable energy. In 2005, Hensarling supported the Energy Policy Act, which contained $4 billion for a hydrogen fuel cell program, with the goal of launching hydrogen fuel cars by the year 2020. In addition, $3 billion was dedicated to developing affordable, efficient and renewable energy technologies. Hensarling has also supported extending the renewable electricity production credit, the H Prize that would offer cash prizes for achievements in the development of hydrogen energy technologies, millions for bio mass research, and millions for solar research.

"To solve this problem, it will take a balanced approach of dealing with both the supply of energy as well as the demand for energy. We need an energy policy that contains all of the above."

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