Issue Position: Energy Independence

Issue Position

Americans can and must be energy independant - no longer buying fuel from unstable, expensive foreign sources. Inexpensive abundant energy can restore our economy and assure our prosperity.

We have many energy-producing technologies - nuclear, oil, coal, natural gas, hydroelectric, wood, solar, wind and other methods. Energy resources are abundant within the United States.

Nuclear and hydroelectric electricity are inexpensive, clean, and safe. Spent nuclear fuel - so-called "nuclear waste" - is easily disposed of by nuclear fule recycling, a method used in other countries but stopped by the U.S. government. Oil is useful for portable fuel. Coal oil and natural gas are indispensable. Solar and wind are expensive and resource-intensive, but useful in remote locations.

Most of our energy industry was built prior to and during the 1970's, when government meddling was much less. Government has since prevented the installation of nuclear power - costing the American people more than $10 trillian in electricity that woudl otherwise have been generated - a loss, so far, of $100,000 per American household. Impediments to the development of coal, oil and natural gas have cost additional trillions of dollars in lost energy.

As a result of misguided Congressional policies - policies supported by Peter DeFazio, Americans are forced to buy 30% of the energy abroad at a cost of more than $400 billion per year.

The installation of 50 nuclear power stations with 10 reactors each - averaging one station per state - would reverse this situation, replacing the 30% of energy imported and providing a surplus of $300 billion in energy for export. Nuclear engineers and entrepreneurs have wanted to build these power stations for more than 30 years. Large numbers of small reactors may do this even more efficiently.

This abundant, inexpensive energy would cancel the American trade deficit and enable return to the U.S. of many energy-intensive job-producing industries that have been forced to move abroad.

Nuclear power is, however, only one aspect of energy freedom. No one should dictate which methods should be used for energy production - and certainly not bureaucrats and politicans in Washington. With economic freedom restored by rollback of oppressive taxation, regulation, and litigation, all energy production methods could compete - without impediments or subsidies. This free competition would provide the best mixture of energy technology.

Moreover, energy freedom and prosperity need not cost the American taxpayer a single cent. All that is needed is for congress to pass laws that get the federal government out of the way!

Similarly, freedom from government taxation and regulation would restore a multitude of other job, wealth and prosperity-producing American industries that are currently abroud because of anti-free enterprise government policies.

American prosperity can be restored in only one way - by the restoration of American freedom! Free productive men and women built our country, the greatest achievement in human history

Our freedom has been taxed and regulated away by politicians, and our nation has therefore stumbled

We must remove these obstacles and restore our progress for ourselves, our children and grandchildren, and people throughout the world to whom America is the great example as they struggle to lift themselves from poverty and free themselves from tyranny.

Source