Virginia will lose out if the Nancy Pelosi’s disingenuous energy bill passes.
This week, Congresswoman Thelma Drake highlights the problems with the latest Democrat energy bill in her radio address.
Virginia’s want to develop American energy, create American jobs and use American energy to prepare for a cleaner energy future.
Pelosi’s bill doesn’t bring drilling any closer to reality and it falls short on investing in renewable energy too.
The Democrat bill takes away what it gives on the one hand with the other.
On the one hand, Pelosi’s bill says that states should have to agree to drilling off their shores. I agree. Federal drilling measures should be permissive rather than mandatory. The drilling moratorium violates the principles of federalism – but so would legislation that took away any state say in whether drilling occurred off their shores.
On the other hand, Pelosi’s bill says that states shouldn’t share in he profits of drilling. I disagree. The Democrat position assumes that all such resources belong to the federal government, or as they prefer to say, “the American people.”
This is consistent with their latest trial balloon — a proposal to nationalize all energy resources — but it is wrong for Virginia and wrong for America. The harvesting of oil off Virginia’s coast should benefit the people of Virginia – not just the U.S. Treasury. Tax revenue from oil resources belongs (at least in part) to us — and the Federal government should NOT take it away.
Governor Palin gave Alaskans a $1200 check last year from surplus tax revenues paid by oil companies into the state’s treasury. Imagine what Virginia could do with such new revenues: How about fixing our transportation system?
The Democrat bill also mandates that 15% of electricity come from renewable sources by 2020 – or electric utilities (READ: “consumers”) pay penalties. But that proposal mandates one type of clean energy (wind or hydro power) and disallows another (nuclear). We won’t even get into the controversial environmental impacts of wind and hydro power. However, it is worth noting that Virginia would be a big loser under this bill. We don’t have the capacity for wind power here so we would have to buy it (READ: more expensive) from states that do or pay those steep penalties.
When it comes to clean energy, Virginia could be an outstanding leader. We may have the largest uranium deposit in the United States. We already have two older nuclear power plants that produce one-third of Dominion Power’s electricity. We could do much, much more to produce clean, safe, emissions free nuclear power right here in the Old Dominion — both for our own needs and to supply other states. But the Democrat bill refuses to cut the red tape on building new nuclear power plants and once again, Virginia loses out.
Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA-9) calls the renewable electricity standard “extremely controversial … It’s not fair and on its merits it deserves to lose.’”
Does the renewable energy standard in the Democrat bill have anything to do with the fact that Pelosi stands to profit from increased demand for wind energy — but she doesn’t make any personal gains from nuclear power?
The Democrats bill also fails to prevent frivolous lawsuits from radical environmentalists who are determined to stop the development of American energy.
And, it won’t help us increase refining capacity. We need new refineries so we can deliver more made-in-America energy to consumers who are still struggling with high gas prices and about to face huge winter heating bills.
Oh, and did I mention that House and Senate Democrats agree on one major component of their respective energy bills: 85 Billlion in new taxes.
