Cure the foreign oil addiction

Cure the foreign oil addiction

Posted: Saturday, April 2, 2011 10:15 am

By U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem

South Dakota families can control many of their expenses during this economic downturn. Coupons at the grocery store, hand-me-downs between siblings and cousins, and planning that summer vacation in the Black Hills are all ways that my family, and many others, has trimmed spending. One of the biggest expenses South Dakota families and small businesses cannot control is the cost of gasoline. In our rural state, public transportation or other alternatives to traveling by car or truck just aren’t viable.

We have seen the price of fuel go up in recent weeks. We saw similar high prices during the summer of 2008. For those who remember that far back, we saw even worse price spikes during the 1970′s. Every time we see these prices, politicians promise they will do something to lower prices, yet nothing gets done. We are still as addicted to foreign oil today as we were 40 years ago.

South Dakotans are tired of paying high prices at the pump when the solution is right in front of us. We need to end our addiction to foreign energy and focus on the vast reserves we have right here at home.

That is why I announced this week I am cosponsoring three bills that will expand domestic offshore energy production. If passed, these bills would reduce energy costs for South Dakota families, create jobs and lessen our nation’s dependence on foreign oil. The bills were introduced by Doc Hastings who serves as Chairman of the House Resources Committee. As a member of the Natural Resources Committee, I look forward to working with Chairman Hastings to pass this legislation through our committee and present them before the full House very soon.

The bills are part of the American Energy Initiative, an effort some of us in the U.S. House of Representatives are supporting, to end Washington policies that have hindered energy production and job creation in the U.S. Over the next few months, those of us who are working on this initiative will offer up a series of bills that will increase our energy independence – and create American jobs at the same time.

These first bills focus on offshore energy, but the effort will not stop there. We must expand American energy production and stop the harmful government policies that are driving up gas prices. The American Energy Initiative will take an all-of-the-above approach to solving our foreign energy addiction. Domestic oil, natural gas, clean coal, wind, solar, and biofuels – including ethanol – are all part of the solution. South Dakota obviously has an important part to play in this plan as well. Our renewable energy potential has yet to be fully realized. I plan on using my position on the Natural Resources Committee to push this new initiative, along with South Dakota’s renewable energy solutions in Washington, DC to end our addiction once and for all.

Read more at Kristi Noem for Congress