Bishop Bill Could Lessen Dependence on Foreign Oil
By Jeff DeMoss, Standard-Examiner, Ogden, Utah
Jul. 3–OGDEN — The Top of Utah’s voice in the U.S. House of Representatives has introduced legislation that he says could completely wean the nation from its dependence on foreign energy sources within a decade.
U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, told the Standard-Examiner editorial board Wednesday that HR 6384, dubbed the Americans for American Energy Act, would help increase the nation’s domestic energy security through “conservation, production and innovation.”
“What we’ve been playing in Washington is a game of scapegoats instead of solutions,” Bishop said. “We need a comprehensive plan to move forward, and this bill actually does it.”
The measure lays out a 12-step program, described in a Bishop news release as “a 12-step addiction recovery plan,” of financial and regulatory incentives to encourage more production of both fossil fuels and alternative energy.
In the fossil fuels arena, it removes a moratorium on oil shale development, opens more territory to offshore drilling, calls for opening the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to drilling, and provides incentives for technologies that turn coal into oil.
To accommodate an expected rise in production, the legislation also calls for 10 new refineries to be built on public lands.
Some revenue from increased production would be used to fund conservation and efficiency efforts, as well as research and development for new and established alternative energy sources, Bishop said.
Other elements of the wide-ranging proposal include more nuclear power generation and reprocessing of spent fuel, as well as more investment in domestic renewable resources such as geothermal and solar power.
“We can’t get out of our dilemma with alternative energy only,” Bishop said. “This is an ‘all of the above’ approach.”
Developments in carbon-capture technology will help to keep carbon dioxide emissions from rising along with production, he added.
As of Wednesday, Bishop’s bill had 26 co-sponsors in the House since its introduction late last week, including outgoing Utah Rep. Chris Cannon and Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio. The bill is now awaiting a committee hearing.
Morgan Bowen of Hyde Park, the Democratic challenger for Bishop’s seat in this year’s election, said the timing of the proposal is puzzling.
“It’s interesting that at this point he puts together an energy policy kind of Johnny-come-lately,” Bowen said. “There should have been something on the table six or seven years ago, and now we’re in a crisis.
“I’m glad he’s starting to look at energy. It’s about time.”
He said oil companies should tap into the millions of acres of domestic land on which they already hold drilling rights.
Bowen said he supports shifting subsidies from the oil industry to renewable energy production.
“I believe we’ve got to put everything on the table, but at the same time, oil is a finite resource that will run out,” Bowen said, “and when it does, we’ll be in big trouble.”
Bishop acknowledged that Congress is generally slow to act on issues until they reach a level of public outrage, but with gasoline ranging between $4 and $5 a gallon, “the dialogue now is totally different. People are realizing we’ve got to do something now.”
He said his proposal would have both short-term and long-term benefits, including a “small, but immediate” drop in gasoline prices.
“I think this gets us independent in 10 years. We can’t turn things around overnight, but if we announce we will do something, it will at least reduce the speculative aspect of oil.”
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Copyright (c) 2008, Standard-Examiner, Ogden, Utah
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