WASHINGTON D.C. — IER Senior Vice President of Policy Daniel Kish issued the following statement upon today’s release of presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s plan for domestic energy. Romney’s white paper outlines the candidate’s plans for achieving a goal of North American energy independence by 2020. The proposals include: granting the states primary control over onshore production of all types of energy; opening up more offshore areas for oil and gas development; increasing coordination on energy issues with neighboring countries Mexico and Canada; approving the Keystone XL pipeline; and implementing reforms to federal permitting and regulatory processes that ensure policies are applied broadly to all forms of energy.
“The proposals contained in the Romney campaign’s white paper affirm an idea fundamental to the whole way we look at energy policy—namely, that the United States is not energy-poor. Rather, we have a wealth of energy resources, enough for generations and generations, and these resources can provide jobs and revenue while lowering costs on American families and businesses. We demonstrated this last year with our North American Energy Inventory report,” Kish said.
“We disagree with the Renewable Fuel Standard’s continuation in the Romney plan, because it is driving up food and energy prices for Americans, and it is an abject failure for U.S. energy policy and the free market. It is good that the American people will be exposed to a real debate about real energy in this campaign.”
###
