Message from Congressman Mike Ross

The high costs of gas and other forms of energy continue to hamper our nation’s economic recovery and they continue to make it harder for Arkansas's working families to make ends meet.

On June 23rd, the Department of Energy announced it would release 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), the government’s emergency fuel storage of about 700 million barrels. Another 30 million barrels will also be released from our industrial allies in the global International Energy Agency, making it the world’s biggest coordinated release of oil from strategic reserves.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the release was authorized because of the unrest in Libya, combined with OPEC’s failure to reach an agreement on oil production targets, threatening to skyrocket gas prices to record levels. The Secretary said the political and military unrest in Libya has prevented about 1.5 million barrels of oil a day from entering the world market.

This coordinated release of oil from our strategic reserves will help lower gas prices in the short term, but it is not a long-term solution. Our country spends just over $300 billion a year importing energy from other nations, particularly from the Middle East.

If anything, our present situation makes it clear that our dependence on foreign oil is a threat to our national security and our way of life. We cannot keep dipping into our strategic petroleum reserve every time there is unrest in the Middle East or we will run out very quickly. We need to look long term and find ways we can utilize the energy sources we have right here at home.

First and foremost, we need to drill more, including off the coast and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Earlier this year, I voted for legislation to lift the President’s ban on new offshore drilling by requiring the White House to move forward on American energy production in areas containing the most oil and natural gas resources. I also voted for legislation that calls on the White House to streamline the approval process for drilling permits in the Gulf of Mexico, which is significantly hampering new energy production within the United States.

Where we can’t drill here at home, we should rely more on stable, international allies for energy, such as Canada. That’s why I also helped introduce the North American-Made Energy Security Act, H.R. 1938, which will expedite a final decision on the Keystone XL pipepline. When built, this pipeline will carry more than one million barrels a day of crude oil from Canadian oil fields to refineries on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, lowering the price of fuel for all Americans. This bill passed the House Energy & Commerce Committee on June 23rd and I will continue to push for its passage on the House floor.

While we should drill more here at home, we must also look to other sources of American-made energy. That’s why I have also introduced legislation that would increase domestic drilling and then use the royalty revenues from this increased production to make historic investments in alternative and renewable sources of energy – all without adding a dime to our nation’s deficit.

My bill, the American-Made Energy Act of 2011, H.R. 1682, would lower the price of fuel, help secure the nation’s energy supply, increase the use of alternative and renewable energy and create more ‘green collar’ jobs here at home.

Some say we need to drill more and others say we need to invest more in alternative energies, but I believe we can and should do both. By focusing on American-made energy and taking a multi-faceted approach to our energy crisis, we can reduce our dependence on foreign oil in the short term and help secure this nation’s energy future in the long term. If done correctly, we can stop shipping billions of dollars overseas and use the money here at home to make smart investments in technology that helps our environment, creates jobs and lowers the price of fuel for all Americans.