Tipton's All-of-the-Above Energy Bill Advances through House Committee with Bipartisan Support

Press Release

Today, Rep. Scott Tipton's (R-CO) legislation to establish an all-of-the-above American energy strategy passed the House Natural Resources Committee with bipartisan support. The next step for the pro-jobs bill will be a full vote in the U.S. House of Representatives.

""All-of-the-above' has been a talking point for far too long--it's time to make it a reality. We need to put into place a sustainable energy plan to responsibly develop America's abundant energy resources and generate economic growth, keep energy costs low, and put Americans back to work," said Tipton. "The Planning for American Energy Act would achieve this goal by using a common sense criteria--the needs of the American people--on which to base production goals for a true all-of-the-above domestic energy plan that includes wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal, oil shale, oil, natural gas, coal and minerals needed for energy development."

Under Tipton's Planning for American Energy Act (H.R. 1394), the non-partisan Energy Information Administration would provide the projected energy needs of the United States from all traditional and renewable energy sources for the next 30 years to the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture on which they then base four year production plans. The bill allows for energy development on public lands in order to promote the energy and national security of the United States in accordance with the multiple-use management standard established by the Federal Land Policy Management Act. It accomplishes this responsibly without repealing a single environmental regulation or review process.

"American families and businesses need relief from rising energy costs. America needs a sustainable energy plan that responsibly advances the development of alternative and traditional resources, generates economic growth, lowers energy costs, and gets Americans working once more," said Tipton. "The Planning for American Energy Act would achieve these goals, and would do so responsibly with full adherence to all existing environmental safeguards."

During today's committee markup, the House Natural Resources Committee also considered the Pioneers Act, (H.R. 1965) introduced by Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO), which seeks to develop U.S. oil shale reserves, many of which are located in the 3rd Congressional District. The bill contained language from Tipton's amendment that was attached to it last Congress to protect communities where development would take place by requiring the Secretary of the Interior to consider the environment, socio-economic impacts, infrastructure requirements, and fiscal stability for local communities located within areas containing oil shale resources.

"As we establish a framework to develop our domestic oil shale resources and put our people back to work we ensure that the small towns which contribute so much to this production effort are not unfairly burdened by it, and that production is done responsibly in a way that safeguards the environment and protects our precious watersheds," Tipton said. "I'm pleased that the Pioneers Act includes our language from last session stating that as the Secretary moves forward with the approval of oil shale development, they shall take into consideration the environment, socio-economic impacts, infrastructure requirements in their entirety, and fiscal stability for local communities located within areas containing oil shale resources. This will ensure that the resources are in place in these communities to support oil shale development and provide a strong environment for sustained production over time."

Source