Ehrlich on Washington column, June 1, 2001

NEWS FROM Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Second Congressional District of Maryland 1 407 York Road, Suite 304 Lutherville, Maryland 21093 315 Cannon House Office Building Washington, D.C. 205 1 5 EHRLICH ON WASHINGTON Week of June 4,2001 By Congressman Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. A Sound Energy Policy For America’s Consumers With the warm summer months already under way, Kendel, Drew, and I are looking forward to spending a weekend in Ocean City. While we always have fun at the beach, we are not looking forward to paying the rising gas prices. Like all Marylanders who spend time at the pump each week, I know that a responsible energy policy is needed - not just to curb the prices we pay for gas - but to ensure that America’s future energy supply is sustainable, environment-friendly, and cost-efficient. In response to the current energy shortage, President George W. Bush and Republicans in Congress have developed an aggressive strategy to counter rising prices. On May 16, President Bush unveiled America’s first national energy policy in 30 years. The National Energy Policy Report is built on three core principles: cutting-edge technology with which to conserve and diversify America’s energy supply; energy distribution that is cost- effective to the consumer; and energy refinement that is environmentally safe. The President’s plan also brings energy producers and consumers together by reducing regulatory barriers to oil and gas exploration. One important issue in the President’s plan involves drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska. Despite the overwhelming support this plan receives from low-income citizens living near ANWR, who could use oil revenues to modernize their schools and hospitals, many of my colleagues in Congress have voiced concerns regarding this proposal. As I have yet to see ANWR first-hand, I am withholding judgment on this proposal until I have had the opportunity to visit the site. I expect to travel to ANWR this summer and will report to you my thoughts upon my return. Unfortunately, political opportunists have tried to discredit the President’s plan by raising suspect environmental concerns. Ironically, they never raised any concerns over the eight years that the Clinton Administration blocked development of energy supplies, even as energy prices soared. As a result, U.S. energy demand will rapidly increase over the next 20 years, potentially outstripping our own supplies. There is no better example of this precarious outcome than the ongoing energy crisis in California. We cannot continue to ignore this situation, as Governor Gray Davis has done, and then expect cheap electricity and gas to somehow become available.