Whither U. S. Energy Policy?

Whither U. S. Energy Policy?
by Laurence M. Vance, July 6, 2011

President Obama has authorized the release of 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The oil reserve is currently at a historically high level of 727 million barrels. "We are taking this action in response to the ongoing loss of crude oil due to supply disruptions in Libya and other countries and their impact on the global economic recovery," said Energy Secretary Steven Chu.

The president has also called for a one-third cut in oil imports by 2025, wider use of natural gas, incentives to use natural gas to fuel fleets of vehicles such as city buses, greater production of biofuels, the establishment of four commercial scale refineries producing cellulosic ethanol or advanced biofuels within the next two years, higher fuel efficiency standards for heavy trucks, and for oil companies to make greater use of federal leases to increase domestic oil output. Obama's 2009 "stimulus package" set aside $70 billion in grants and loan guarantees to promote renewable energy, energy efficiency, and advanced batteries for electric cars.

The State Department has again put on hold the construction of an oil pipeline from Canada to U.S. refineries in the Gulf of Mexico while it considers the pipeline's environmental impact.

Shell Oil has again applied to drill ten wells off Alaska's Arctic shore over the next two years after earlier experiencing the inability to obtain federal permits.

Republicans have their own ideas for the direction of U.S. energy.

The Republican-controlled House recently passed, with the help of only twenty-three Democrats, the Jobs and Energy Permitting Act of 2011 ( H.R.2021) to streamline the permit process with the goal of expanding American energy production.

Earlier this year, House Natural Resources Committee chairman Doc Hastings (R-WA) was pushing three bills that would expand offshore energy production to create jobs, lower energy costs, and lessen American dependence on foreign energy.

Senate Republicans just spearheaded the passage of an amendment to a bill that would eliminate income tax and excise tax credits on ethanol fuel production. However, they earlier voted overwhelmingly against a similar bill to reduce tax credits for the oil industry.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has accused the Obama administration of "waging a war on American energy" because of drilling permit delays.

In December of 2007, President Bush signed into law the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 ( Department of Defense uses 300,000 barrels of oil each day, 70 percent of which goes to overseas operations at a cost of almost $10 billion a year.

Whither U.S. energy policy? We can only hope it runs out of steam.

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