Energy Freedom Would Jolt America’s Economy Back to Life

Many governmental policies have wide-ranging implications, but few touch literally everything in the way that energy does.  When the price of energy rises it pushes up the cost of everything in the economy from apples to automobiles.  All goods have an energy cost associated with production, that cost is compounded by additional costs in the transportation and sale of that good or service to the end consumer.

The goal of the Trump administration should be to maximize the energy production of the United States.  The additional supply, from all sources, will lead to lower energy prices for all Americans.  There are many things that President-elect Trump and Congress can do to reduce the price of energy and jumpstart the economy.

The new government should remove excessive and burdensome regulations that restrain the emerging revolution in hydraulic fracturing.  Despite the fear-mongering of the environmental left, even Obama’s EPA acknowledges that fracking does not pose a public hazard to drinking water.  Federal lands should be opened up for development by executive order where possible and with legislation when needed.  With abundant supplies of oil and natural gas being continually discovered, America can undergo an energy revolution if government simply gets out of the way.

As more federal lands are opened up for development, the government should also remove the restrictions on offshore drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and around Alaska.  An estimated 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of natural gas exist in that region and the figure is likely much higher as newer technologies make resources discoverable and accessible.  This would create an explosion of new jobs and additional revenues to the federal treasury for deficit reduction.

The United States has 61 commercial nuclear power plants with 99 reactors that generate about 20% of the nation’s energy.  Myths of its danger aside, nuclear power is extremely safe.  Most plans for new nuclear power plants got scrapped after an overreaction to Three Mile Island and Chernobyl.  These fears have held the nation back for too long.  It’s time for the government to enact policies that facilitate the creation of new plants, without jeopardizing safety, to put us on a path to energy independence while creating jobs.  Those concerned about increasing levels of CO2 in the atmosphere should be most in favor of this carbon-free technology.

President Trump should rescind all executive orders mandating the use of renewable energy by governmental agencies.  Congress should step in where the President can’t act alone and repeal disastrous laws the like the renewable fuel standard, a position American Encore has previously written about.

President-elect Trump can and should rescind the unlawful unconstitutional Clean Power Plan.  This mandate from the EPA was created out of thin air without any statutory authorization.  Some estimates put its cost at $41 billion per year for what even the EPA admits are inconsequential environmental benefits.  Congress has repeatedly rejected CO2 limits as too costly for the American people.  Rogue agencies don’t get to empower themselves because they disagree with Congress’s judgment.

Growth-oriented energy polies will lead to an economic boom not seen since the Reagan era and lower the cost of living for all Americans.  President-elect Trump has spoken often on the need to get America back to work; American oilfields, mines and ocean rigs are a great place to start.