Issue Position: Energy

Issue Position

I support a comprehensive energy plan, one that promotes responsible exploration and development while protecting the environment and consumers. I support conservation efforts, increasing research into renewable energy sources and relief for energy consumers in the wake of rising energy costs.

In Florida and throughout the country, consumers are facing painfully high prices for natural gas, gasoline, propane, heating oil, and diesel fuel. Surging oil prices make it more expensive for people to ship goods, travel, and drive their kids to school. High energy costs make it difficult for businesses to stay afloat during tough economic times and hamper our recovery.

I believe in advancing proposals that put consumers first and promote both energy security and environmental responsibility.

A responsible energy policy balances incentives for increased domestic energy production with initiatives for energy conservation and efficiency. A responsible energy policy also ensures that opportunities for energy infrastructure expansion do not come at the expense of critical protections for energy consumers.

The energy policy bill passed this year by the House falls short of the mark on several key issues:

* Making Energy Markets Work - The House bill would repeal the Public Utility Holding Companies Act (PUHCA), which imposes special consumer protection requirements on firms that own electric power subsidiaries in two or more states.

* A Balanced Approach - The House bill provides a host of subsidies and regulatory changes to encourage additional domestic production of energy. These provisions include laudable clean coal and hydrogen power funding and regulatory changes encouraging the production of ethanol. But the House bill takes a pass on the important issue of fuel efficiency and rejects proposals that would enhance both energy security and environmental protection by requiring electric power generators to increase their use of renewable energy. America needs a more balanced approach to energy policy.

* Environmental Responsibility - Energy security can and should be consistent with the equally important objective of environmental security. The House energy bill fails to strike the right balance. It opens the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling, gives energy companies and federal bureaucrats inside tracks to overrule state environmental protection decisions on electric power line and pipeline siting, and rejects bipartisan consensus positions on hydroelectric dam licensing and clean water protections. It also rejects bold new requirements to promote the development of renewable, sustainable energy sources.

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