Hanabusa Votes Against GOP Energy Plan

Press Release

On Thursday, the House passed H.R. 4480, the GOP's Domestic Energy and Jobs Act. Congresswoman Colleen Hanabusa (HI-01), member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, voted against the measure.

"This bill promotes bad policy," said Hanabusa. "Instead of providing for the growth of safe and responsible energy production in the U.S., this measure continues to protect Big Oil. Rather than protect the health and safety of Americans, it undermines the Clean Air Act and blocks progress in reducing air pollution. It endangers our natural environment by imposing arbitrary deadlines for reviewing permits to drill offshore. I simply cannot support a bill that is so diametrically opposed to the path we should be taking to build a stronger, healthier, more economically prosperous nation."

The bill also imposes a $5,000 "protest fee" on parties seeking to protest drilling permits, a provision that Hanabusa labels "a major flaw." "We do not impose outrageous fees on groups or individuals who simply want to assert their First Amendment rights," Hanabusa said. "You can appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States, the highest court in the land, for a filing fee of $350. How could you possibly impose a fee of $5,000 here, or any fee for that matter? I can see no justifiable reason for limiting free speech those who can pay high fees, unless it is to stifle protest." Hanabusa argued against the fee in committee and introduced an amendment opposing the fee.

The bill requires the Interior Department to grant leases on 25% of the acreage requested by the oil industry each year, while streamlining the department's process for issuing drilling permits. It hinders the President's ability to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) during a disruption of the Nation's energy supply, by requiring that more public lands are made available for drilling in order to match the amount of oil released from SPR.

The measure also undermines the Clean Air Act by requiring the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to use industry costs to set standards for how much pollution is safe to breathe, rather than science. It also blocks the EPA from finalizing several important air quality rules, and makes energy production a priority over recreation and conversation on Public Lands.

Hanabusa offered an amendment to the bill that would require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to consider Hawaiian Home Lands in their energy strategy for renewable energy development initiatives. The Hanabusa Amendment passed by a voice vote.

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