The Election is Nearly Over, but the Fight Has Just Begun

On Election Day, the polls are pointing towards big changes in the leadership in Congress. Republicans are positioned to take over House of Representatives and will likely narrow their gap in the Senate. And even if the Democrats manage to retain control of the House, several incumbents running for reelection have already publically declared that the will not vote to reelect Nancy Pelosi as House Speaker, which means a change in leadership is certain.

Will this mean AEA can spend less time fighting harmful schemes like cap-and-trade and renewable energy mandates? Not likely. History shows that when it comes to energy, the Republicans, while perhaps not as hazardous as their counterparts, deserve to be watched closely. Just recently, for example, leading Republicans have endorsed a tax on oil imports, cap-and-trade, a gasoline tax, a renewable energy mandate, a carbon tax, utility price caps, and yet another ethanol mandate.

With all the changes in Washington, one thing will remain the same — regardless of who is in charge the American Energy Alliance and the Institute Energy Research will continue to fight against destructive energy policies that lead to higher energy and gasoline prices and increased imports from unstable foreign regimes. Here are just a few things AEA will be advocating the new Congress to get to work on right away:

1. Fight EPA and their economically destructive policies. The Obama Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is out of control. Congress declined to regulate carbon dioxide, but EPA is pushing ahead in spite of Congressional inaction. But that’s just one way EPA is working to harm the economy. EPA has a whole suite of regulations that will increase the price of energy and make it harder to do business in the United States.

2. Fight the Obama Administration’s war on affordable energy. Everywhere we look the Obama Administration is fighting to reduce our ability to make energy in the United States. In the Gulf of Mexico, the Administration has made it next to impossible to drill for new oil. The Administration has cancelled oil and gas leases and EPA is working to shut down coal-fired power plants. A new Congress needs to fight back and allow American to produce energy here in America.

3. End energy subsidies. Many sources of energy receive subsidies from the federal government. In these tough economic times, there is no reason to spend taxpayer dollars to promote politically-connected sources of energy. Now is the time to stop all energy subsidies and return those resources to American taxpayers.

The election may be nearing an end, but our work is just beginning. Thank you for being at our side every step of the way.

Sincerely,

Tom Pyle
President

P.S. How changes would you like to see in Washington with respect to energy policy? Leave a comment below.