From MasterResource
By Robert Bradley Jr.
“Energy policy will be on the ballot this fall, and American voters deserve meaningful answers from all candidates about how to drive production of affordable and reliable natural gas and oil for decades to come.” – American Petroleum Institute
The American Petroleum Institute (API) is no better or worse than its membership. If the companies like the free market, they are on solid consumer, taxpayer grounds. If the membership tilts toward special government favor (rent-seeking), API works against consumers and taxpayers.
Oil and gas companies should work from fundamental consumer demand out rather than political correctness in. They would have avoided boondoggles like the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in the 1970s and hydrogen and carbon capture today. They also should have fought hard against wind and solar for on-grid electricity and for batteries to overcome intermittency.
Today, API has many free-market views, given the Biden-Harris Administration’s anti-oil-and-gas agenda, 250 actions (and counting) worth. Yes, the upcoming U.S. election is about energy. And one major party candidate is pro-oil-and-gas (and coal)–another rabidly against (via her handlers). No mystery there.
API’s Mark Green summarized the issues as follows:
“With demand for affordable, reliable energy rising here in the U.S. and around the world, the oil and natural gas industry stands ready to work with any administration to advance a policy agenda that helps secure America’s energy future and reduce inflation.”
Energy policy will be on the ballot this fall, and American voters deserve meaningful answers from all candidates about how to drive production of affordable and reliable natural gas and oil for decades to come.
API has offered a clear and beneficial energy plan for all candidates – a five-point policy roadmap to strengthen American energy leadership and help reduce inflation. You can see the details here and here, but the plan’s pillars are:
Protecting Consumer Choice – The Biden administration is using regulation – EPA’s tailpipe emissions rule and new fuel-economy standards – to force automakers to produce more electric vehicles and push Americans to buy them. Consumers – all of whom have different budget and family needs – deserve more freedom, not less, when it comes to deciding which vehicles they will buy and drive.
Restoring the Role of American Energy in Bolstering Our Geopolitical Strength – American liquefied natural gas (LNG) was a lifesaver for Europe when Russia invaded Ukraine and restricted natural gas supplies. LNG offers other countries an opportunity to reduce emissions from using other fuels – as the U.S. has done in its power sector. The U.S. Energy Department should lift the ongoing pause on new LNG permits and promptly approve pending export applications to support America’s status as the world’s top LNG supplier.
Leveraging Our Abundant Natural Resources – For today and the future, America must plan for robust production so that families and businesses have access to affordable, reliable energy – for transportation, home heating and cooking, and countless consumer products that are staples of modern life. Anchored by U.S. oil and natural gas, strong domestic energy production also helps control energy-related costs for Americans, even as inflation has greater impacts on the costs of food, health care, education and other necessities.
Fixing Our Broken Permitting System – America needs to be able to build critical energy infrastructure of all kinds, not just oil and natural gas projects. But this is being impeded by a federal permitting process that can take years to complete. Comprehensive reform, such as the proposals in new bipartisan Senate legislation introduced this week, is needed.
Advancing Sensible Tax Policy – America’s oil and natural gas industry supports 11 million jobs and drives billions in investment that boosts the nation’s economy. U.S. tax policy must be made competitive with policies of other nations, because capital flows to where it is most welcome. And investment in American industries is vital to a strong, diversified economy, helping to sustain the jobs, economic growth, and tax revenues that support our states and communities.
API’s roadmap is a practical, sensible, workable path forward on American energy, which should be treated as a national, strategic asset and foundational to our country’s economy and security.
API President and CEO Mike Sommers:
“As the world’s largest producer of oil and natural gas, America brings stability in a time of chaos, making our industry the envy of the world. This critical framework highlights our commitment to maintaining America’s energy advantage for decades to come.”
As the election season kicks into high gear, we look forward to an important national conversation about energy.
Final Comment
API’s 550-word summary above is pretty solid as far as it goes. But political correctness and internal rent-seeking prevents API from condemning the anti-consumer, taxpayer-enabled energies. At this late hour, principle must join pragmatism to advocate an across-the-board free market, classical-liberal energy policy. To this end, the oil, gas, coal, and internal combustion engine industries should unite against climate alarmism and forced energy transformation.
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