Issue Position: Energy/Environment

Issue Position

Energy policy is not only an economic issue- it's a national security issue. Our dependence on imported foreign oil has increased close to 20% over the last 10 years. That meant 60% of our oil is imported. What is worse is that China has asked Saudi Arabia for a 30% increase in oil, which means higher prices for U.S. consumers.

To fix these problems, we must understand them. We have high energy prices for several reasons:

* Demand is higher than ever before. China and India's economies are growing rapidly and are eating up oil supplies.
* We don't have enough refineries, which increases the cost of gasoline. We haven't built a refinery in the U.S. for over 30 years.
* Natural gas transmission and distribution pipelines need to be upgraded. Again, price spikes can happen if demand increases and the supply can't meet that higher demand.

I believe the government needs to reform its policies to help with these issues:

* We need more American oil production. We need to drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). ANWR is estimated to contain over 15 billion barrels of oil. ANWR production could equal crude imports from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait combined.
* I've voted for incentives to encourage companies to build new refineries and support construction of new refineries on military bases that are no longer in use.
* I support the development of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and improved fuel efficiency standards for cars.
* I support nuclear energy, because it provides vast quantities of electricity with virtually no carbon emissions.
* I voted to improve energy efficiency use by the U.S> government. There must now be a 20% reduction in federal building energy use by 2013.
* I support the development of certain bio-fuels and other fuel alternatives.
* I support making the Energy Secretary part of the National Security Council.
* I want to make sure our U.S. companies aren't hurt while two of the world's biggest polluters, China and India, aren't required to reduce any emissions.
* I opposed the cap and trade bill because it's wrong to increase energy prices for U.S. businesses without similar emission reduction commitments from other countries
* We need to decrease carbon emissions. The easiest way to do this is to increase our nuclear energy production. France produces 85% of its energy with nuclear technology, for example.

We are addicted to foreign oil. We must become less dependent on foreign energy, and continue to develop new energy technologies.

I sit on the House Energy and Commerce Committee in Washington. We are tasked with addressing important energy and environmental challenges. I take this task very seriously. We cannot separate energy policy from its impact on the environment. I will continue to consider the constant interaction between these two areas as new policy proposals are considered. I have 12 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren. Like everyone, I want to leave this world better than I found it.

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