President Obama's foolhardy energy policy

February 7, 2012
Daily Caller
Deneen Borelli

Fearing a political backlash over his rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline, President Barack Obama tried to use his State of the Union address to appease critics of his war on fossil fuels.

By stealing conservatives’ “all of the above” energy policy, Obama is trying to diffuse criticism of his flawed energy policy.

In particular, Obama’s call for more oil and gas drilling in his State of the Union address was meant to deflect attention away from his failure to approve TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline. TransCanada has already invested $1.9 billion in the project and abided by the federal regulatory process, and its pipeline provides a whole new meaning to Obama’s “shovel ready” phrase.

The president’s refusal to allow construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, at a cost of an estimated 20,000 jobs, is proof he is putting his radical ideology before the well-being of American families.

A majority of Americans are disappointed with Obama’s stance on the Keystone XL pipeline. According to a Rasmussen Reports poll, 56 percent of those surveyed favor building the pipeline — believing it will help the economy. Americans are focused on fixing the economy and creating jobs, with 59 percent saying that creating new jobs tops environmental protection goals.

If Obama were serious about finding ways to create jobs, he would allow the construction of the pipeline, which would not only generate jobs along the pipeline’s path to Texas but would also generate tax revenue and help make our nation less dependent on oil from unstable Middle Eastern countries.

Furthermore, Obama’s energy policy excludes coal. Coal now provides approximately 45 percent of our electricity, but regulations generated by the Obama EPA are imposing significant costs on utilities, costs that are forcing some power plants to close and others to spend billions of dollars in order to comply. Those compliance costs will be passed on to consumers in the form of higher electricity prices. Those higher electricity prices will inevitably force more companies to build manufacturing facilities overseas.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2012/02/06/president-obamas-foolhardy-energy-policy/#ixzz1lhqDy3dJ

<- Go Back