As of the day I’m writing this, the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in mid-Missouri is $3.29.  A year ago, it was $2.96.  While prices are still lower than the over four dollars a gallon record they hit in the summer of 2008, they are inching closer to it all the time. At a time when our economy continues to struggle, higher gas prices make things even more difficult for many hard-working families to make ends meet. Higher prices don’t just impact Missourians at the pump; they also drive up the cost of any good or service that uses fuel as an input. 

In the House we have been debating the PIONEERS Act, part of the American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act, which is a common sense plan to permanently remove government barriers to American energy production, create over a million new jobs and lower gas prices for families across our country. This legislation expands access to American energy resources by expanding offshore energy production, opening ANWR to energy production, promoting development of oil shale and requiring approval of the Keystone pipeline. Last month the president claimed to support increased American energy production and this legislation provides him with a great opportunity to back up his words and support the House’s pro-energy, pro-American jobs efforts.
 
If we develop the abundant energy resources we have in North America, we can lower prices and lessen our dependency on oil from the Middle East at the same time. While I was extremely frustrated that the president rejected the Keystone XL pipeline last month that could have brought massive amounts of oil to the United States from a friendly, bordering neighbor, the American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act would require the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to approve the pipeline within 30 days.

In addition to the administration’s rejection of Keystone, on February 3, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced that it was closing more than a million acres of public lands in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming to oil shale development, which would provide a rich source of oil and natural gas. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. holds more than half of the world’s oil shale resources, with the largest deposits located in a 16,000-square mile area in the Green River formation in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming. USGS estimates show the region may hold the equivalent of more than 1.5 trillion barrels of oil – six times Saudi Arabia’s proven reserves, and enough to provide the United States with energy for the next 200 years. Opening up these areas would create new jobs, new energy and new resources at a time when they are desperately needed; therefore, the House included in its American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act clear rules for the development of U.S. oil shale resources and promotes shale technology research and development.

The administration also recently announced that it was going to restrict off-shore drilling under its proposed Outer Continental Shelf plan for another five years. In light of new regulations put into place following the BP oil spill, I believe that we can safely drill in this area and it is time to allow access to the Outer Continental Shelf. There is significant public support for accessing this exceptional resource not only for its economic impact but also because, as with the Keystone pipeline and domestic oil shale reserves, it will reduce our dependence on the Middle East for energy. On February 7, I and many of my colleagues in Congress sent Interior Secretary Ken Salazar a letter expressing bipartisan support for new and expanded access to the Outer Continental Shelf. The American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act resumes offshore lease sales in Virginia, the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska, and establishes a fair and equitable revenue sharing program with coastal states. The legislation also opens three percent of ANWR’s 19 million acres to responsible energy development. 

The bottom line is that our nation has opportunities right here in North America to meet our current and future energy needs. Americans are tired of rising gas prices and being at the mercy of foreign governments. The president talks a good game when it comes to energy but he has failed to walk the walk. While he continues to create obstacles, I will continue to work in Congress to ensure that we take every opportunity to use the resources we have to secure our economic future.