Boehner Statement on Rahall Anti-Energy Bill

GOP Leader: “Democrats continue to push job-killing legislation that would hamstring American energy production and undermine job creation”

9/16/09 House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today criticized a flawed energy bill (H.R. 3534) sponsored by House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-WV), which Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will testify about today. Boehner issued the following statement:

“Middle-class families and small businesses are struggling and our economy is shedding jobs, yet Democrats continue to push job-killing legislation that would hamstring environmentally-safe energy production and undermine job creation. Instead of pursuing an ‘all-of-the-above’ strategy to promote more American energy production, Chairman Rahall’s bill would increase taxes, raises fees, expand government bureaucracy, and postpone production of wind, solar, oil and natural gas. The end result is fewer American jobs and greater dependence on foreign oil.

“The Democrats’ push for this bill is particularly troubling because it comes just weeks after they rammed through Speaker Pelosi’s ‘cap-and-trade’ national energy tax – legislation that will increase electricity bills, raise prices at the pump, and ship more American jobs overseas to places like China and India. Republicans believe there is a better way. Our American Energy Act is the fastest route to a cleaner, more reliable and secure energy future. By increasing environmentally-safe energy production, using proven 21st century technologies, promoting alternatives like nuclear and clean-coal technologies, and encouraging increased efficiency, our bill will create more jobs, lower energy costs, and clean up our air and water.”

NOTE: The House GOP's American Energy Act would increase environmentally-safe energy production on remote lands and far off our shores; promote the use of alternative fuels that will reduce carbon emissions, such as nuclear, clean-coal, and renewable energy technologies; and encourage conservation to preserve and protect our natural resources. It would also establish a renewable energy trust fund that would use revenues generated through increased American energy production to support innovation in renewable and alternative energy sources, like wind and solar technologies.