The Daily Call - True All-of-the-Above Energy Strategy

Op-Ed

When I heard about the president's new EPA rule, I said it was nuts -- that's because it is. The proposed rule would force new federal bureaucratic mandates on states and energy suppliers that will be passed directly to American consumers, causing energy prices paid by families and small businesses to, as the president has put it, "necessarily skyrocket."

The president is blocking American energy production and waging a war on coal, and this national energy tax is his latest move. With nearly 70 percent of Ohio's electricity coming from coal, this attack couldn't come at a worse time.

Think about the winter we just had here in Ohio and how high electricity bills have gotten.

I've heard from a number of businesses and families in our area who are concerned about how these regulations are driving up costs and hurting our economy.

I share those concerns. But instead of trying to help, here is the president issuing new rules that condemn us to higher bills and lower incomes for years to come. It's a sucker punch for families everywhere paying more for just about everything in the president's fragile economy.

This doesn't have to be the case.

As I've told many local business leaders and manufacturers, our area is at the forefront of an energy boom, and we should be taking advantage of it. What we need is a true, all-of-the-above energy strategy that works to protect our environment while preventing the unintended consequences that the president's far-reaching energy mandates will have on this sluggish economy.

We need common-sense energy solutions that promote clean air, clean water, and a healthy environment -- without adding red tape and burdensome mandates that will ultimately destroy jobs, raise costs, and limit our freedom.

That's exactly what we're working on in the U.S. House. Republicans are pursuing a true all-of-the-above energy strategy that also addresses the top priorities I constantly hear about from people in our area: jobs and the economy.

We've passed a number of bills that would work to end this administration's war on coal, expedite the expansion of natural gas production, and approve the job-creating Keystone pipeline -- just to name a few.

Our plan means more jobs for workers and lower prices for families. And for the country, it means a stronger economy -- a stark contrast to the president's plan.

In the coming weeks, you can expect to see the House continue to work on this. If the president is serious about supporting an all-of-the-above energy policy, he'll stop the regulatory assault on American energy and call on Senate Democrats to pass House Republicans' pro-growth jobs bills -- that's what I'm going to keep urging him to do.

Along the way, if you'd like to learn more about our plan or share your thoughts with me, please visit boehner.house.gov or call my office at 513-779-5400.

Boehner represents Ohio's 8th District, which includes all of Butler, Clark, Darke, Miami, and Preble counties, and the southernmost part of Mercer County. He was first elected to Congress in 1990.

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