CREATE A REAL ENERGY PLAN

The federal government has a record of failure in picking winners and losers among energy sources. Yet, Tim Holden and the Democrats persist in seeking to raise taxes on what works and subsidizing what doesn’t. They simply aren’t serious.

• America must drill here, drill now, and exploit known domestic petroleum and natural gas reserves offshore, in ANWR, in the Bakken Formation in Montana and North Dakota and in oil shale in Colorado. The expectation of greater oil supplies would make commodity traders less optimistic about futures prices and bring prices down in the short term.
  
  
• We should not, as Tim Holden and the Democrats voted to do earlier this year, raise taxes on oil companies. Those are only passed through to consumers and will raise prices for everyone.
  
  
• We should not, as Tim Holden and the Democrats recently voted to do, attempt to sue OPEC for more oil.

• Coal to methanol has some attractive features. There is a better total energy-cost-to-energy-delivered ratio for coal conversion than for corn or bioethanol. The U.S. – and the District – have vast reserves of coal that do not compromise the food value of corn and other sugar products. If competitive, coal liquifaction and gassification, shale oil, and tar sands should come available from market forces.

• In order to improve the environment and reduce our requirement for imported oil, I would consider energy policy that would phase out natural gas (methane) for electric power generation (now about 20% in US), replace it with clean coal technology, first, and then nuclear power, and use natural gas as a clean transportation fuel (in the form of Compressed Natural Gas -- CNG) for buses, trucks, and fleet vehicles. That could cut US oil imports by 30%.

America Must Get Serious About Solving Our Energy Problems

We must develop our own domestic resources.

The U.S has more shale oil than any other country. Rocky Mountain shale is believed to contain the equivalent of 2 trillion barrels of oil. How much is that? Twice as much as the entire world has used since oil was discovered in Pennsylvania in 1859.

This chart by the Institute for Energy Research shows graphically how America's shale oil reserves compare to other countries' petroleum reserves.

A few years ago it was estimated that shale oil development would be competitive at around $40 a barrel. That figure may have risen, but with world oil prices over $140 a barrel, shale oil development is a no-brainer.

Republicans in Congress have been pushing for shale oil development for years. But, like drilling in the outer continental shelf and in ANWR, shale oil development is being blocked by Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Tim Holden’s Democrats in Congress.

The future of America's economy is at risk as a result.

America is the only developed nation in the world that restricts access to its own offshore energy resources

The extent to which the Democrats are depriving American consumers of their own energy resources is clearly indicated by this graphic:

Congress's ban on outer continental shelf exploration expires, and is renewed, annually. It is scheduled to expire in just 78 days, which means that, if the Democrats want to continue to keep gas prices high, they will have to act to extend the ban before the general election.

If the Democrats eliminate the ban, they must still explain why they allowed this prohibition to continue for so long. Even if they cave to public pressure and allow exploration and drilling offshore, it is Democratic policies on energy that have brought us to this crisis.

Alternative Fuels:

Tim Holden and Democrats in Congress continue to throw billions of our taxpayer dollars at energy alternatives like ethanol, but they will not allow American companies and American workers to drill on American soil for more American oil and natural gas.

What does ethanol really cost us?

Taxpayers who drive and buy groceries are paying four premiums for corn ethanol:

1. Federal crop subsidies for corn farmers in the Farm Bill
2. Federal subsidies for ethanol refiners
3. Paying the same pump price and fuel taxes for the ethanol content of motor fuel for a product that contains only 70% the energy value of gasoline
4. Increased demand for corn drives up the prices of corn-derived food products and animal feed

All of this taxpayer expense is for a product that isn’t even environmentally neutral.

1. Corn ethanol actually requires more energy to produce and transport than it releases when burnt
2. Because it evaporates more quickly than gasoline, ethanol also increases smog emissions
3. Burning ethanol increases ozone precursor emissions significantly - even the EPA acknowledges this
4. The fertilizers, pesticides, and the massive amounts of water required to grow corn add to agricultural runoff, corrupting rivers and streams and straining our water resources

Despite this, there is still a federal ethanol mandate.

After decades of subsidies, the alternatives supported by Tim Holden and the Democrats are no closer to solving our energy problems than they were when the special interest giveaways began.

Why won’t Democrats Drill Here, Drill Now?

Democrats get a lot of money and political support from the green lobby. Green venture capitalists, like Kleiner Perkins general partner Al Gore, stand to make billions of dollars on “clean technology” investments, but only if oil prices continue to climb.

A lot of green venture portfolios will be in trouble the day after Congress lifts moratoria on domestic oil exploration and production.

But the greens are very well-connected – to Democrats in Congress.

Self-interest prevails again – at taxpayer and consumer expense.

1.      Most anthracite coal is found in Pennsylvania.
2.      Pennsylvania has 29 billion tons of coal reserves, or 6.1% of the country's reserves.
3.      The combined direct and indirect contributions of the coal industry to Pennsylvania's economy are more than $10 billion.
4.      Using more than 57 million tons, Pennsylvania ranks fourth in coal use.
5.      Pennsylvania employs more than 9,300 miners.
6.      Pennsylvania distributes more than 75 million tons of coal each year.
7.      Pennsylvania has 82 underground mines and 225 surface mines.
8.      About 58% of the electricity used in Pennsylvania is produced by coal.
9.      Pennsylvania produces about 7% of the country's coal supply.
10. Pennsylvania has 23 coal-fired power plants.

Domestic Drilling Means Far More than Lower Fuel Costs

Congress and the administration will or have negotiated a bailout for the financial industry that could cost taxpayers as much as $700 BILLION. At the same time, Democrats in Congress are scheming to reinstate the moratorium on domestic drilling that expired on October 1. It’s inexplicable other than as a sell-out to the very generous militant environmental lobby. The importance of drilling to American taxpayers is more than just lower costs to consumers and a matter of national security. It is a critical fiscal issue for the US Treasury and a source of relief for overburdened taxpayers. Following is an estimate of the value of royalties for the Treasury if the restrictions are lifted and production begun: