Kyl, Republicans Unveil Energy Proposals

Republicans have presented a unified energy policy to reduce our dependence on foreign nations by finding more of our own domestic resources while relying on less energy from overseas WASHINGTON, D.C. Senate Republicans unveiled their proposal to address the high price of gasoline and provide a comprehensive approach to the nations long-term energy needs. Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), a cosponsor of the Gas Price Reduction Act of 2008, offered details of the plan while criticizing Democrats lack of action. Republicans have presented a unified energy policy to reduce our dependence on foreign nations by finding more of our own domestic resources while relying on less energy from overseas, said Kyl. In contrast, the Democrats have offered no solutions to high prices, and instead shut off every avenue to allow the United States to increase its own energy supply. The Republican plan increases supply by safely producing oil off our own shores and from oil shale on federal lands. We also propose to reduce consumption by fast-tracking plug-in hybrid automobile technology. The Republicans combination of ˜use less, find more is a balanced approach. The Democrat response appears to be ˜find less, import more, thereby increasing our dependence on unstable regions of the world at a time of record high gas prices. The Democrats view of domestic production appears to be ˜no we cant-- no to our own waters, no to our public lands, no to our own coal, and no to nuclear power. Saying no to U.S. production means saying yes to higher prices, and yes to oil from Venezuela, Iran, Russia, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia. Currently, 600 million acres of federal coastal waters are off-limits to exploration. According to the Interior Department, these waters are believed to hold at least 18 billion barrels of undiscovered, recoverable oil; and this estimate is likely low because there has been no exploration allowed in those restricted waters for over 30 years. Meanwhile, Cuba has indicated it will allow other countries to drill for oil off its shores, which are less than 50 miles off the U.S. coast. The proposal includes four mainstream proposals: · Allows deep sea exploration for oil and natural gas 50 miles or further off the coasts in U.S. waters lease payments will be paid to the federal government, to the participating states, and for wildlife conservation. · Allows the safe production of oil shale on public lands in Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado for an estimated six trillion barrels of oil. · Supports the development of plug-in hybrid technology that will dramatically decrease transportation costs to consumers by reducing the amount of gasoline they use. · Provides the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission with the resources necessary to ensure transparency in all trading activities.