Rhetoric vs. Reality: Does President Obama Really Support an “All-of-the-Above” Energy Strategy?

9:30am in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building

In his 2012 State of the Union Address, President Obama said, “This country needs an all-out, all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy.”  The question for this committee: Is that goal being achieved, and if not, why not?  Today’s hearing will assess whether or not President Obama’s rhetoric is supported by the actions of his Administration.

There are signs that this all-of-the-above goal is not being reached and that the Administration is pursuing a narrower, special-interest, green-energy-only agenda.  Several regulatory actions implemented by President Obama’s Administration have had the opposite effect, proving to be more of a none-of-the-above energy strategy.

President Obama frequently states that the U.S. only has two percent of the world’s oil reserves, but ignores our potential to produce trillions of barrels–according to the Institute for Energy Research we have enough supply to meet demand for 200 years.  Likewise, President Obama likes to take credit for an uptick in domestic production—but 96 percent of U.S. production since 2007 is taking place on non-federal lands.  At the same time, the Administration is closing public lands to exploration and drilling at an increasing pace.

Economic growth and job creation has been fueled by access to safe, affordable and abundant energy supplies.  Matching our past growth in the future will require access to that same stream of cheap energy options—from myriad sources.  But that goal cannot be achieved by paying lip service to all options, while simultaneously favoring one or two at the expense of those proven time and again to deliver the power our economy needs to grow.