Obama's Energy Policy Running on Empty
“Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe.” In 2008, incoming Secretary of Energy Steven Chu prophetically proposed his vision for an American energy policy.
In the month before the Obama administration assumed office, the average price for a gallon of gasoline in the United States was $1.59. This week, the price of gasoline has climbed to $3.79. Many predict that price will exceed $4.00 this summer. Americans have grown accustomed to favorable gas prices compared to most of the developed world, but under this administration’s energy policy, our advantage at the pump has steadily declined.
Why does the Obama administration want American consumers to pay so much money for gasoline? On March 20, 2012, the Oversight and Government Reform Committee conducted a hearing. Several compelling arguments were made. Some suggested that it related to the administration’s stake in American car companies who are promoting hybrid and electric vehicles. Others suggested that companies specializing in alternative energy production who received Department of Energy loans were closely linked to high ranking officials in the Executive Branch.
While the political motivations behind certain bailouts and distribution of the stimulus monies seem self-evident, I argued that there is an even more urgent matter before the American people: Why is the United States government not increasing its domestic energy supply?
There are so many reasons to increase exploration and development of domestic energy resources. This country is in the midst of one of its worst unemployment stretches in its history. Promoting energy development in the United States will create jobs. In addition, we need look no farther than the tenuous situations in Venezuela and Iran to see that establishing a stable and reliable domestic energy supply has become a national security imperative.
The Obama administration has misinformed the American people that the United States has approximately 22 billion barrels of oil in reserve. In fact, studies show that America in fact has closer to 1.4 trillion barrels of recoverable oil in reserve. The prudence of developing some of these resources is a subject of debate, but no one could reasonably deny that this administration should be doing more to ease the current pain at the pump.
The Obama administration is out of touch with the circumstances and needs of Americans living outside the Washington Beltway. At home in my Upstate New York district, we measure trips not by blocks and miles, but by the half hour, hour, and more. Our winter conditions are not conducive to driving lightweight, hybrid cars that save mere miles per gallon. To my constituents back home, it seems like this administration is missing opportunity after opportunity to increase domestic energy resources all the while watching gas prices surge past $4 per gallon of gas.
And the issue of rising energy costs is not restricted simply to the gasoline we put in our cars. Tuesday’s hearing marked the first day of spring in our calendars, yet back home my constituents are well aware that they could face freezing temperatures. To date, we’ve had a very mild winter. Home heating oil usage has decreased by hundreds of gallons this winter season as compared to last year's. However, at a $1 per gallon increase in home heating oil, these families are still facing bills of $1,000 more than last year – plus a healthy New York state tax on top of that. Some of these families have even told me that they’ve turned their thermostats down by 5 degrees or more.
Finally, if the president’s administration is so enamored with Europe, why not look to European countries that have committed to defining a sustainable domestic energy policy? In France, a sophisticated nuclear energy portfolio accounts for 80 percent of the country’s domestic consumption. No part of this administration’s energy policy, in promise or in practice, boasts anywhere near that number.
I challenged Secretary Chu to go to the president and tell him that the American people are hurting, and that the time is now for him to do something to provide relief. With unemployment rate lingering at 8.3 percent and gas prices passing $4 per gallon, there is no time left for excuses. The president’s time to act is now.
