US Chamber Proposes Energy Reforms to Reflect New Energy Revolution

The policy landscape has changed for the worse since 2008, and has become as inhospitable as it has been in a very long time, Harbert noted. These changes for the worse include:

  • Pending U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations designed to strangle the coal industry
  • A U.S. Department of Interior leasing plan that bars approximately 80 percent of federal land from oil and gas exploration and production
  • The threat of hydraulic fracturing being subjected to federal regulation
  • An increasingly broken and lengthy siting and permitting process
  • Assaults on free energy trade; a moribund nuclear waste disposal policy
  • Difficulty getting ahead on emerging issues such as cybersecurity threats to energy infrastructure

 “The United States has a greater variety and quantity of energy resources than any other country in the world,” Harbert noted. “When coupled with new exploration and production and end-use technologies, there is no reason we cannot usher in a new and long-lasting era of energy abundance and enjoy its economic benefits.”

The Institute for 21st Century Energy aims to unify policymakers, regulators, business leaders, and the U.S. public behind a “common sense energy strategy to help keep America secure, prosperous and clean.”

Last year, the institute reported that the United States experienced a reduction in its energy security risk in 2012 thanks to growing U.S. oil and gas production and continued environmental improvements.

Earlier this month, U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tom Donohue urged the U.S. government to lift its ban on crude oil exports, the National Journal reported Jan. 8.


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