SPECIAL TO KANSAS CITY STAR:
AS I SEE IT
On energy, President Obama is out of touch
As recent reports have noted, gasoline prices are on course to hit $4 a gallon by summertime — more than doubling since President Obama took office in January 2009 and marking a record high for February.
Higher prices at the gas pump hurt families and small businesses in Missouri and nationwide, delaying much-needed job creation and threatening our economic recovery.
Unfortunately, the Obama administration recently brushed off Americans’ concern over rising gas prices as a product of media hysteria that occurs every year as we head into peak driving season in the summer months. The reality is that people are feeling the consequences of the administration’s hostility to increased domestic energy production in the form of pain at the pump.
These policies have done nothing to help the people of Missouri and across the country, who are struggling with skyrocketing gas prices amid sustained high unemployment and slow economic growth.
What’s worse is that this administration continues to bet hard-earned taxpayer dollars on high-risk green companies like Solyndra, while dismissing shovel-ready projects like the Keystone XL Pipeline, which would create 20,000 jobs at no taxpayer cost and decrease our nation’s heavy reliance on unstable foreign sources of oil.
The next best thing to energy we produce ourselves is more North American energy. More than 800,000 barrels of oil a day would go to our refineries from Canada if the administration would just say “yes.”
Recent price volatility also demonstrates the vulnerability of our energy supply to the increased use of different types of specialized gasoline formulations in certain localities. Current regulations require that unique blends of fuel — or so-called “boutique fuels” — are used in different states and cities in an attempt to curb pollution. This mandate often leads to needless and unexpected gas price hikes due to a higher chance of faster inventory depletion when gas supplies are low.
Recently, I introduced an amendment to the highway bill to simplify our fuel blends to help lower costs and provide more flexibility for consumers. Boutique fuels make localities such as Kansas City especially vulnerable to production problems, shortages and price swings. Ten years ago, the Kansas City area switched to a rare summer boutique blend that failed to clean the air but instead added more unnecessary and burdensome costs for area consumers.
As a result, The Kansas City Star recently reported that Kansas City area drivers have been paying on average 10 cents a gallon more than their neighbors. Simplifying our fuel blends is a step in the right direction to help lower costs and provide more flexibility for consumers in Missouri and nationwide.
Every developed economy in the world looks to their own resources to fuel their growth — yet the Obama administration continues to restrict access to our own American energy resources — demonstrating how out-of-touch it is with the gravity of our economic situation.
Our country needs the benefits and stability that come from American energy resources. We have the potential to jumpstart private-sector job creation and stimulate economic growth by enacting a comprehensive energy strategy that encourages more domestic oil production.
We also must utilize all forms of American energy — wind, solar, renewable, biomass, shale gas/oil, coal, and nuclear — that can offer us energy security and economic growth.
If President Obama really wants to support an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy, he should stop blocking and delaying domestic energy production and enable all sources of energy we have here in the United States — starting with the Keystone XL Pipeline. The responsible development of more domestic energy will help create more private-sector jobs, bring down prices at the pump and position our nation for greater energy independence now and into the future.
Sen. Roy Blunt is a Missouri Republican.
Posted on Tue, Feb. 28, 2012 06:00 PM
SPECIAL TO KANSAS CITY STAR:
AS I SEE IT
On energy, President Obama is out of touch
As recent reports have noted, gasoline prices are on course to hit $4 a gallon by summertime — more than doubling since President Obama took office in January 2009 and marking a record high for February.
Higher prices at the gas pump hurt families and small businesses in Missouri and nationwide, delaying much-needed job creation and threatening our economic recovery.
Unfortunately, the Obama administration recently brushed off Americans’ concern over rising gas prices as a product of media hysteria that occurs every year as we head into peak driving season in the summer months. The reality is that people are feeling the consequences of the administration’s hostility to increased domestic energy production in the form of pain at the pump.
These policies have done nothing to help the people of Missouri and across the country, who are struggling with skyrocketing gas prices amid sustained high unemployment and slow economic growth.
What’s worse is that this administration continues to bet hard-earned taxpayer dollars on high-risk green companies like Solyndra, while dismissing shovel-ready projects like the Keystone XL Pipeline, which would create 20,000 jobs at no taxpayer cost and decrease our nation’s heavy reliance on unstable foreign sources of oil.
The next best thing to energy we produce ourselves is more North American energy. More than 800,000 barrels of oil a day would go to our refineries from Canada if the administration would just say “yes.”
Recent price volatility also demonstrates the vulnerability of our energy supply to the increased use of different types of specialized gasoline formulations in certain localities. Current regulations require that unique blends of fuel — or so-called “boutique fuels” — are used in different states and cities in an attempt to curb pollution. This mandate often leads to needless and unexpected gas price hikes due to a higher chance of faster inventory depletion when gas supplies are low.
Recently, I introduced an amendment to the highway bill to simplify our fuel blends to help lower costs and provide more flexibility for consumers. Boutique fuels make localities such as Kansas City especially vulnerable to production problems, shortages and price swings. Ten years ago, the Kansas City area switched to a rare summer boutique blend that failed to clean the air but instead added more unnecessary and burdensome costs for area consumers.
As a result, The Kansas City Star recently reported that Kansas City area drivers have been paying on average 10 cents a gallon more than their neighbors. Simplifying our fuel blends is a step in the right direction to help lower costs and provide more flexibility for consumers in Missouri and nationwide.
Every developed economy in the world looks to their own resources to fuel their growth — yet the Obama administration continues to restrict access to our own American energy resources — demonstrating how out-of-touch it is with the gravity of our economic situation.
Our country needs the benefits and stability that come from American energy resources. We have the potential to jumpstart private-sector job creation and stimulate economic growth by enacting a comprehensive energy strategy that encourages more domestic oil production.
We also must utilize all forms of American energy — wind, solar, renewable, biomass, shale gas/oil, coal, and nuclear — that can offer us energy security and economic growth.
If President Obama really wants to support an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy, he should stop blocking and delaying domestic energy production and enable all sources of energy we have here in the United States — starting with the Keystone XL Pipeline. The responsible development of more domestic energy will help create more private-sector jobs, bring down prices at the pump and position our nation for greater energy independence now and into the future.
Sen. Roy Blunt is a Missouri Republican.
