A Bipartisan Energy Bill That Could Actually Work?

Finally there is a energy bill in the House that could actually remove US’s dependance on foreign oil (controlled by the gang of OPEC) and at the same time increase the role of the States, supply jobs, protect the environment, and provide for future energy technology.

The catch is that it’s not the leading energy bill  in the House, H.R. 3534. (Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources Act of 2009) This bill is a disaster in the making and does nothing but increase the Statism cancer we already are plagued with…  Not surprisingly it also does nothing to increase our production of domestic energy supplies while at the same time raises energy prices for all American families.

America needs a solution that uses it’s current energy supplies for today, while investing in alternative energy for tomorrow. Only this solution will lower energy costs for American families.

The bill I’m refering to is HR 2227, the American Conservation and Clean Energy Independence Act. This bill is backed by both several Democrats and Republicans and decreases our dependance on foreign oil, while at the same time lowering energy prices and creating jobs. The highlights are below…

• Opens up oil drilling within our coastal waters. (Estimated 19 billion barrels of oil, which is  30 years of current imports from Saudi Arabia)
• Control over this drilling is designated to the States with 30% share of revenues.
• All existing environmental laws and regulations would apply to these new sites.
• Expedites the leasing process to energy companies
• Will eventually create an estimated 1 million jobs and 87 billion in government revenue
• Designates government revenue to energy research as well as tax credits for alternative energy technologies. (Let’s hope the government does as little meddling as possible here, we don’t need another $529 million dollar loan to a Finland car company…)

Although the bill is not 100% perfect, (a complete hands off ’free market’ solution would be better) it is an excellent step in the right direction to reduce our dependance on foreign oil, while at the same time protecting our environment and investing in alternative energy.

For more on the bill and research behind it, see this excellent article from Heritage Foundation here.

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