Issue Position: Energy Independence

Issue Position

Affordable, reliable and domestically produced energy is vital to job creation, our economy and our national security. For far too long the United States has depended on foreign sources of oil. For the sake of our national security, job creation, and economic independence, we must invest in domestic energy production. The U.S. has vast energy resources including coal, natural gas, oil, nuclear, wind, water and solar. America needs to pursue an all-of-the-above energy strategy.

I believe in market-based solutions to provide for America's energy needs. I am against a national energy tax which only hinders America's ability to create jobs and become energy independent. Instead, I would propose we encourage the exploration and production of all energy sources which can include lifting moratoriums on drilling bans off our coasts to increase our energy independence, and removing the Environmental Protection Agency's overreach and crippling regulations. Protecting American jobs should be just as important as protecting the environment.

The Obama Administration used taxpayer dollars to provide a government backed loan to Solyndra which failed miserably. Instead of picking winners and losers in the energy industry, we must level the playing field. The federal government should not play a role in choosing which companies succeed and which ones fail. The U.S. has abundant energy resources, but poor policy decisions have forced us to import these much needed resources while our own natural resources continue to be ignored.

The sticker shock we all experience at the pumps each time we fill up our automobiles speaks very loudly of our country's lack of a comprehensive energy plan. With gas projected to reach six dollars a gallon by the summer of 2012, it is apparent that Americans can no longer afford the status quo when it comes to our energy needs. We must cultivate the exploration and production of all domestic energy sources so we can create American jobs and become energy independent.

Source