House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) delivered the following statement on the House floor today in support of H.R. 2, the American Energy Solutions for Lower Costs and More American Jobs Act.

“Mr. Speaker –

I stand here on the House Floor, only a few hundred yards away from the Senate, and it feels like we are worlds apart.  In the House, we are listening to the American people who are telling us that it’s time to expand American energy production.  

Hardworking Americans know how important energy is in their lives. They need it to commute to and from work.  It fuels the buses that take our kids to school. It powers the businesses on Main Street. It provides jobs and improves the livelihoods of millions of Americans who are struggling to make ends meet in President Obama’s economy. And this Sunday, it will power the jumbo-tron at CenturyLink Field in Seattle as the Seahawks take on the Broncos.

Unfortunately, on the other side of the Capitol, these calls to expand American energy production are falling on deaf ears. The House has passed dozens of energy bills, including a number from the Natural Resources Committee, on which the Senate has failed to act. By doing so, they are standing in the way of American job creation, affordable energy, and increased national security.

H.R. 2, the American Energy Solutions for Lower Costs and More American Jobs Act, would protect and expand American energy production by removing Obama Administration roadblocks and preventing unnecessary bureaucratic red-tape.  

Since President Obama took office, total federal offshore oil production has dropped 13 percent, federal offshore natural gas production has dropped by nearly one half, and the Obama Administration has placed over 85 percent of America’s offshore acreage off limits.

Onshore, it’s the same story. This Administration has had the four lowest years of federal acres leased for onshore energy production going back to 1988. It has also pledged to impose a duplicative layer of red-tape on hydraulic fracturing which would only hurt American jobs.

The Obama Administration has also waged a war on coal and on coal jobs. Coal is a reliable and affordable energy resource that provides 30 percent of America’s electricity and supports millions of American jobs. Unfortunately, with one proposed regulation by the Obama Administration, those jobs could disappear. Their rewrite of the Stream Buffer Zone Rule could cost seven thousand coal jobs and cause economic harm in 22 states.  

But there is good news. The provisions in this bill are a direct response to the Obama Administration’s actions that have locked up our energy resources.

The bill would end the regulatory delays blocking construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.  After nearly six years of review, this is a commons sense solution that would eliminate the need for a Presidential Permit, address all other necessary federal permits, and limit litigation that could delay the project.

The bill would expand offshore energy production. It would require the Obama Administration to responsibly move forward with new offshore energy production in areas that could contain the most oil and natural gas resources – including areas off the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts. It also requires the Administration to hold oil and natural gas lease sales that have been delayed or canceled – such as offshore Virginia.  This expanded offshore production would generate over $1 billion in new revenue to the federal treasury and create up to 1.2 million jobs long-term.

The bill would expand onshore energy production. It would reform the leasing and permitting process to remove unnecessary delays, set clear rules for the development of U.S. oil shale resources, and establish internet-based auctions for leases. It also would help foster expanded energy production on tribal lands.

The bill would stop the federal government from imposing duplicative federal hydraulic regulations, and prevent it from implementing job-destroying coal regulations.  It would also help protect consumers from EPA regulations that could destroy jobs and increase energy costs. 

Finally, the bill would expand production of clean, renewable hydropower by removing outdated barriers and streamlining the regulatory process. It would authorize hydropower development at existing, man-made water canals and pipes at 12 Bureau of Reclamation projects.

Mr. Speaker, The American Energy Solutions for Lower Costs and More American Jobs Act is a common sense action plan to create over one million new American jobs, provide relief to hardworking Americans who are feeling the squeeze of higher gasoline and electricity prices, strengthen our economy, and more importantly in this unsettled world, increase America’s energy security.  I urge all of my colleagues to support this important bipartisan legislation.”