Lamborn Introduces PIONEERS Act

Press Release

Today, Subcommittee on Energy and Minerals Chairman Doug Lamborn (CO-05) announced plans to introduce the Protecting Investment in Oil Shale the Next Generation of Environmental, Energy, and Resource Security Act (PIONEERS Act), to allow production of the 1.5 trillion barrels of U.S. oil shale, create good paying American jobs and generate new revenue without raising taxes on families and small businesses.

"The Obama Administration has gone out of the way to block access to America's vast oil shale reserves, keeping jobs and American energy security under lock and key. We cannot afford to continue to keep one of America's greatest natural resources buried under burdensome regulation and federal red tape," said Subcommittee Chairman Lamborn. "The PIONEERS Act removes the Obama Administration's strangle hold on over a trillion barrels of American oil, provides an opportunity for new job creation and strengthens America's energy security. American taxpayers shouldn't be spending billions of dollars a day on foreign oil when we have the resources and workforce to produce more energy at home."

According to the U.S. Geological Survey the United States has at least 1.5 trillion barrels of oil in the form of oil shale. This is six times Saudi Arabia's proven resources and enough to provide the United States with energy for the next 200 years.

The PIONEERS Act will for the first time establish clear rules and lift regulatory barriers for the production of U.S. oil shale resources. The bill will direct the Secretary of the Interior to issue additional commercial leases and Research, Development, and Demonstration leases, give certainty to the private sector by making commercial oil shale regulations permanent ,and give the Interior Secretary tools to further incentivize oil shale development.

Since taking office the President Obama has repeatedly delayed and hindered oil shale development to the detriment of local economies, job creators and American families struggling with high energy costs. In August, the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held a field hearing on the Obama Administration's delays for oil shale production and received testimony that highlighted the importance of American oil shale to job creation, energy security, economic productivity and international competitiveness. Witness testimony also noted the Obama Administration's failed regulatory efforts that only provide uncertainty to future U.S. energy development.

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