Hearing of the House Budget Committee - America's Energy Revolution: A New Path to Jobs and Economic Growth
Hearing
Washington, DC -- Today Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen, Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, made an opening statement at the House Budget Committee Hearing on America's Energy Revolution: A New Path to Jobs and Economic Growth.
"Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
"And I want to join the Chairman in welcoming all of our witnesses today to talk about this very important issue of our energy future and its impact on the economy and job growth.
"I should say at the outset that the most immediate measure that this Committee, and that this House, could take right now to eliminate the drag on the economy is to replace the sequester. And we have tried now eight times to get a vote to do just that. The Congressional Budget Office predicted that, as a result of the sequester, we will see 750,000 fewer American jobs by the end of this calendar year. That's a self-inflicted wound that should be unacceptable to all of us. We should go to conference as the law says, and we start resolving those issues right now.
"Now, the future of energy production in this country is a huge opportunity. And that is why the President has put forward his all-of-the-above energy strategy, to focus on all homegrown American energy sources. So, let's look at the facts: U.S. oil production is at its highest level since 1992; the Energy Information Administration has shown that the annual oil production from federal lands and waters has been higher every year under President Obama than in the last year under the previous administration; and we are seeing a revolution in this country of natural gas production. Federally supported technology and the ingenuity of the technology community has helped our businesses drill more effectively and extract more natural gas. In just seven years, U.S. natural gas production has increased 27 percent.
"We have seen the first two nuclear reactors in a generation approved in February 2012. And as a result of federal and state policies and the ingenuity of the private sector, we have seen a dramatic jump in the production of renewable energy. In just the last four years, we have doubled the amount of electricity generated from the wind and the sun. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that in 2011 there were 3.4 million clean energy jobs -- an increase of 158,000 from the year before. Those are jobs manufacturing wind turbines, installing solar panels, and other jobs in that sector.
"Now, many of our Republican colleagues say that they want to have an all-of-the-above energy strategy, but what they are really calling for, in most instances, is a fossil fuels-only approach. And that was reflected in the fact that their presidential candidate in the last election opposed federal incentives for the production of wind energy. A lot of governors from a lot of those states, like the governor of Iowa and others, said that it was important for jobs in their states. But the position taken at the federal level by many of our colleagues is no to federal investments in clean energy policy. And in fact, if you look at the budget of our Republican colleagues, they are slashing by 50 percent important national investments in clean energy technologies. That is not an all-of-the-above energy strategy -- that is a status quo energy strategy.
"And it is incredibly shortsighted for two reasons. One is it totally ignores the costs of doing nothing when it comes to global climate change -- we know there are huge costs attached to that. Just ask the insurance companies. We see a greater frequency and intensity of major weather events, whether they're droughts, whether they're forest fires as a result of the droughts, whether they're floods -- a whole series of events that have a price. And so doing nothing in that area has a cost.
"Secondly, our major economic competitors -- countries like China, countries like Germany -- recognize the importance of investing in clean energy technologies as an important market globally for the future. And right now, the Chinese are investing more in that sector than we are.
"I believe, as do hundreds of American businesses who recently signed a statement saying that the United States should rise to the occasion and challenge, that dealing with global challenge is at the same time a huge economic and jobs opportunity for the United States. And we should not shy away from that challenge.
"And that is why we should, Mr. Chairman, adopt what is truly an all-of-the-above energy strategy to develop responsibly homegrown energy sources, and at the same time make better use of the energy that we have by taking steps to prevent wasteful practices. And by doing that, we can make sure that the energy that we do produce goes further, and, at the same time, increase jobs and save consumers a lot of money.
"So, Mr. Chairman, I hope we will, going forward, change at least what has been the pattern in this House of Representatives and truly focus on all of those energy sources, not simply a one-dimension fossil fuel strategy.
"Thank you."
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