Our nation’s next president must be ready to lead on Day One, so the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is reaching out to "45" to share our policy vision. We are highlighting the issues that are most important to the employers, executives and entrepreneurs that create opportunities across the nation. One of the most important issues is energy—the subject of the letter below.
Dear 45,
With growing deficits, aging infrastructure and ever-increasing budget demands, our country is on the hunt for more revenue. The good news is that there’s a better option than taking even more out of Americans’ paychecks. One ready-made solution to these challenges is America’s vast homegrown energy resources. Unleashing the potential of these vast resources will not only generate much-needed revenue to help fund our country’s critical needs, it will also create jobs and strengthen national security.
Unfortunately, the current administration has pursued energy policies that will squander this opportunity and inflict economic harm. Its approach to energy has been to make it increasingly expensive, and to limit our energy options to a favored few. For instance, your predecessor has steadfastly refused to allow more access to offshore energy supplies in the Atlantic and Pacific, even on a limited basis, which could create millions of jobs, billions in revenue, and trillions of new investment.
At the same time, the administration is pursuing numerous crushing regulations designed to radically redesign the electricity sector, which will put Americans out of work, threaten the reliability of our electric grid, and raise costs for consumers. It’s also pressing forward on new costly ozone regulations that will be impossible for some areas of the country (including a few national parks) to meet. And most recently, it has proposed adding a $10 tax on barrels of oil produced in the United States, which would raise not only the price of gas but also the cost of common goods we use every day.
Fortunately, you have an opportunity to put our country on a more practical and productive path – one that first and foremost recognizes that we have transitioned from an era of energy scarcity to an era of energy abundance. Our Institute for 21st Century Energy has identified numerous specific policy actions which would create jobs, grow revenue, and make our nation more secure.
America’s innovators have changed our energy fortunes for today and can do it for the future if government heavy handedness doesn’t crush that opportunity. Your energy vision should embrace every form of energy. For instance, we should be removing barriers to increasing our country's production of oil, natural gas production and coal, enhancing the competitiveness of nuclear and renewable energy sources, protecting our energy infrastructure, and promoting energy efficiency.
Too often, policy debates devolve into soundbites. Our country and its citizens deserve a more informed conversation about energy, which starts with a realistic understanding of what we have, what we need now, and we’ll need in the future. It’s easy to pretend that the world can simply stop using traditional resources like coal, oil and natural gas, but as our economy grows, we will need all of them—and more.
Our proposal to find ways to improve all sources of energy, to make each of them more efficient and cost effective. We also have enormous opportunities for renewables and advanced technologies which should be robustly pursued. And we must invest in and build the infrastructure that is needed to move molecules and electrons all across our nation to supply Americans with the energy needed to power their homes, cars and offices.
We’re hoping that your administration will give energy issues the attention they deserve. Ingenuity and innovation brought us this new energy future and support for a new American energy era runs deep. You will find ready partners on both sides of the aisle and we, representing America’s job creators, stand ready to assist.
Sincerely,
