Plan includes eliminating the new EPA carbon regulations; lifting antiquated ban on the export of domestic crude oil and liquefied natural gas; approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline; allowing exploration of the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf for new oil and gas leases
LORTON – Ed Gillespie today rolled out his energy plan: “Unleashing American Energy.” The plan is part of the Ed Gillespie Agenda for Economic Growth. This release includes the plan and statements in support of the plan from Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-9th), Senator Jeff McWaters (R-Virginia Beach), Delegate Israel O’Quinn (R-Bristol), Lou Genuario, a small business owner in Northern Virginia, Mike Thompson, Chairman/President, Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy, and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI).
Unleashing American Energy
Virginia is blessed with abundant energy resources, from coal and natural gas in the Southwest to offshore wind and deep sea oil and gas off our coast. We are home to a large number of employers in the nuclear industry and nearly 40 percent of the energy Virginians consume comes from the state’s safe, emission-free nuclear facilities. Energy companies and energy production create good, high-paying jobs across the professional spectrum, from engineering to computer programming. Electricity—and all that it allows—are critical to our nation’s prosperity.
With the right policies, Virginia can be the East Coast’s energy leader, creating high-paying jobs here in the Commonwealth, bringing down costs for home heating in the Winter and prices at the gas pump in the Summer, and helping to move our nation closer to energy independence. We need a Senator who shares that vision and will support the growth of a vibrant, responsible energy sector.
Virginia’s energy sector already directly employs more than 30,000 workers and indirectly supports as many as 200,000 jobs, making it a crucial component of our economy. With our natural resources, geographic location, and port access, Virginia can and should be a more integral part of America’s energy supply. From clean coal to wind energy to offshore oil and natural gas, Virginia has bountiful natural resources, but efforts to develop these resources are often thwarted by an overreaching Federal Government.
The Obama Administration’s domestic energy policies are among the biggest drags on economic growth we face. At every turn, President Obama and his Democratic allies in Congress have pursued energy policies driven by a narrow ideological agenda rather than the need to develop our domestic natural resources in order to reduce our dependence on foreign producers, create jobs, spur economic development, and lower utility bills and the price of gas at the pump for all Americans.
Whether it be moratoria on offshore drilling (including off the deep-sea coast of Virginia), cancelling more than a million acres of oil shale development in the West, slowing down the issuance of drilling permits on federal lands, or plans to close half of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska to energy development, counter-productive Obama administration energy policies have cost American jobs and slowed economic growth. Refusal to proceed with building the Keystone XL Pipeline has deprived our nation of an economic engine that has the potential to create thousands of high-paying jobs and strengthen our energy independence. The price we have already paid for pursuing these misguided policies has been steep. Estimates show that offshore drilling restrictions alone have cost upwards of 1.2 million jobs.
The Obama administration’s war on coal has imposed onerous regulations on domestic producers, resulting in the shuttering of a record number of coal-fired power plants (with many more scheduled to come). New coal production regulations threaten to destroy thousands of coal mining jobs, hurt coal production, and raise power prices. Indeed, this would seem to be the express intent of such policies: Dr. Julio Friedmann, the Obama Administration’s deputy assistant secretary for clean coal at the Department of Energy, told Congress that new clean coal regulations would increase wholesale electricity prices by “70 or 80 percent.”
Cap and trade legislation relentlessly pursued by Democrats in Congress would impose artificial limits on domestic energy production and simply shift that production overseas, while schemes to impose a national energy tax “could cost roughly $100 billion annually and more than 2 million jobs” according to the National Association of Manufacturers. A tax on carbon emissions pushed by the Obama Administration could cost up to 66,000 jobs by 2023 in Virginia alone.
Unfortunately, Mark Warner has voted in lockstep with the Obama Administration’s war on coal. He called Cap and Trade our long term energy solution and joined Barbara Boxer and John Kerry to release the Senate version of Cap and Trade in 2009. He said that “the most significant thing we can do is send the market a signal that either directly through a carbon tax or indirectly through cap and trade, we are going to put a price on carbon.” Last year, Senator Warner voted against creating a 60-vote threshold for any budget resolution that includes a tax or fee on carbon emissions. Five Senate Democrats broke ranks to protect their constituents from these job-killing policies—but Mark Warner toed the party line, voting against Virginia workers and families.
Also in 2013, Warner voted against an amendment to ban unilateral EPA mandates regulating carbon emissions, regulations that have already had a severe impact on the coal industry. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, newly announced EPA regulations limiting greenhouse gas emissions would have a hugely detrimental effect on the coal industry, reducing America’s coal-fired energy capability, and destroying jobs. And more regulations are on the way. According to the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, seven of the EPA’s final or pending regulations could cost $60 billion per year in lost GDP and annual job loss of 900,000.
The United States has been the leader in clean coal technology, and killing the coal industry here does nothing to reduce carbon emissions around the world. In fact, with countries like China building coal plants at a record pace in a lax regulatory environment, it amounts to unilateral disarmament in coal production, and a net negative impact on the environment. Virginia should be the clean coal capital of the world; instead, our current policies are destroying jobs and entire communities in coal country.
Anti-growth energy policies are causing economic pain and hardship across the Commonwealth. For the 1.2 million Virginia households with income of less than $50,000 per year, energy costs already consume an estimated 20% of their after-tax incomes. Policies that refuse to take advantage of America’s vast energy potential only make the economic pinch worse for these hard-pressed families. The Senate’s inaction on the Keystone XL pipeline is a prime example. Mark Warner voted against an amendment that would have moved the Keystone project forward over President Obama’s opposition, and the amendment was defeated. Then he backed a “non-binding resolution” supporting the construction of the Keystone pipeline in an effort to cover his tracks on the binding amendment. Most recently, he co-sponsored an amendment to get the Keystone project moving again—and then supported Majority Leader Harry Reid in blocking consideration of the amendment. When it mattered, he voted against the Keystone pipeline, and when it didn’t matter he voted for it. That’s political posturing, not real leadership.
I have a fundamentally different vision for energy policy in the United States and in our Commonwealth of Virginia. I believe in the potential of domestic sources of energy to make our lives better, strengthen our economy, and put more Americans to work. We see this in the boom in domestic shale gas recovery, which could result in a million new manufacturing jobs by 2025 and has the “potential to spark a manufacturing renaissance in the U.S.” according to the New York Times.
Virginia should be a model for the rest of the nation in promoting “all of the above” energy policies. Technologies that have enabled the shale gas boom have unleashed enormous possibilities for the future, and the nation is positioned to become energy independent for the first time ever. All that is lacking is national leadership.
I believe in an energy approach that embraces both traditional and alternative energy resources. I support coal, oil, and natural gas production—including responsible deep sea drilling off our coast—because we can protect our environment while ensuring access to the domestic energy resources we need to create new jobs, lower prices at the pump, and keep utility bills affordable. We need to encourage energy efficiency and the use of solar where it makes sense. We also need to do more to encourage the continued development of nuclear energy as a low-cost and low-emission energy source for the future.
As Senator, I will fight to protect coal jobs, because I understand how important coal is both to our economy right here in Virginia and to our nation’s energy independence, and I’ll stand up to the EPA’s failed policies that are driving up energy costs and imposing unnecessary regulatory burdens on our homes and businesses. Protecting public health and safety does not require duplicative regulations, needlessly complex and costly compliance requirements, or bureaucratic inefficiency. We need to make use of our abundant natural resources to create jobs and lower energy costs for Virginians. I will work to give Virginia the opportunity to lead on American energy independence, and stand up for our miners and the families and small businesses that rely on them.
I will not only oppose cap-and-trade legislation, carbon tax schemes, and proposed restrictions on hydraulic fracking to produce shale oil and natural gas (which would merely push production overseas and raise energy prices), I will fight to lift restrictions on offshore drilling that are costing our state an estimated 25,000 new jobs. I will strongly advocate for the exploration of the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf, and for allowing new oil and gas leases on the Federal government’s enormously large mineral estate, which could unleash tens of trillions of dollars of economic activity and contribute hundreds of billions to Federal and state treasuries.
As Senator, I will not just focus on developing energy resources, I’ll also work to remove the federal red-tape that slows down the development of energy infrastructure and limits the development of our energy sector and the creation of jobs. I will propose lifting the antiquated bans on the export of domestic crude oil and liquefied natural gas, which put American producers at an unfair disadvantage and kill jobs. Because liquefied natural gas and crude oil operate in a global market, lifting the bans has the potential to significantly lower energy prices, since an increase in production anywhere results in downward pressure on prices everywhere. Lifting these bans also has the benefit of taking pricing power and political leverage out of the hands of those who have a disproportionate influence on worldwide markets because the United States has taken itself out of the equation. Global markets should not be at the mercy of Vladimir Putin in Russia or the mullahs in Iran.
I understand that new energy projects, like building new pipelines and refineries, are a critical link between production and lower prices for consumers. As a result, I will work diligently to get the Keystone XL pipeline approved.
It’s time to harness our energy production capabilities and our natural resources in the service of improving the quality of life of our citizens and enhancing our national prosperity, and to put a stop to misguided policies that are impeding our economic growth and damaging our international competitiveness.
Statements in Support of “Unleashing American Energy”
Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-9th)
“For too long, job-creating energy bills from the House have been killed by the Democratic majority in the Senate. We need Ed Gillespie as an ally in letting us develop our domestic energy resources and spurring economic growth. He has a track record of getting results and he’ll be effective in getting substantial energy bills passed and stopping the EPA’s war on energy jobs.”
Senator Jeff McWaters (R-Virginia Beach)
“Allowing offshore exploration for oil and natural gas in the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf and lifting the outdated bans on the export of domestic crude oil and liquefied natural gas would mean thousands of new jobs in our region. His plan to unleash American energy jobs is one of the reasons we need Ed Gillespie’s leadership in the U.S. Senate.”
Delegate Israel O’Quinn (R-Bristol)
“Ed Gillespie’s plan represents a clear and necessary departure from this Administration’s failed energy policies that are devastating jobs in Southwest Virginia. I hope every Virginia voter will read Ed’s energy plan to see how we can benefit from producing affordable, reliable energy right here in America. Unleashing domestic energy production is a win-win for Southwest Virginia and I’m glad to see Ed Gillespie fighting for those priorities.”
Louis V. Genuario, Small Business Owner
“As a Home Builder in Northern Virginia and immediate Past President of the Home Builders Association of Virginia, the energy policies of President Obama, which Mark Warner supports, are impeding my business’ ability and other businesses throughout the State to build affordable housing. During a time where the economy and job growth is flat, higher energy costs do not help Virginians achieve the great American Dream of Home Ownership. Lowering energy costs by reduced regulation and increasing clean domestic fossil fuels will increase jobs and provide for a more vibrant economy, which translates to greater home ownership. I support Ed Gillespie’s energy plan, which would unleash American energy production and utilize our natural resources while decreasing dependence on foreign oil.”
Mike Thompson, Chairman/President, Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy
“The pro-energy agenda that Ed Gillespie has crafted makes a lot of sense for Virginia and for our nation. Energy development and environmental stewardship can work together for the betterment of our nation and for our state. Gillespie’s energy plan shows how that can be accomplished. We look forward to reviewing Senator Warner’s energy plan and hope it is as forward looking and responsible as the one released today by Ed Gillespie.”
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI)
“Whether you’re in Michigan or Virginia, rising energy costs are on the minds of families who see the job creation opportunities being squandered by this administration’s policies. Ed Gillespie has the right approach to spurring domestic energy production. Having Ed as a partner in the Senate would bring us a step closer to fully realizing our domestic energy potential, bringing down energy costs and creating much-needed jobs.”
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