U.S. Congressman John Boehner
Unlocking America’s Resources is Key to Growth & Jobs 

“Scrolling through the morning news a few days ago, two stories on Cincinnati’s Channel 9 caught my attention. First, the price of gas is up 14 cents over this time last year.  Second, a recent study found that 27 percent of Americans have no emergency savings. 

“Sadly, these are just two byproducts of the president’s policies – including his efforts to block development of American energy – that are resulting in rising prices, sluggish growth, and stagnant wages. 

“In the House of Representatives, Republicans understand that that this cannot become the new normal.  So, as President Obama focuses on unilaterally imposing regulations that amount to a national energy tax, we’re taking a different approach. 

“Rather than making it harder to utilize our vast resources – including coal, oil and natural gas – we’re focusing on developing them to create jobs, revitalize manufacturing, and make America a nation of builders again. Two bills passed by the House the week of June 23 will help do that by unlocking the most resource-rich offshore areas, currently placed off limits by the Obama administration, and facilitating more oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico. 

“Specifically, the Offshore Energy & Jobs Act (H.R. 2231) requires the Obama administration ‘to move forward with new offshore energy production in areas containing the most oil and natural gas resources – including the Atlantic Coast and Pacific Coast.’ In testimony before the House Committee on Natural Resources, a Louisiana State University economist predicted this bill will help create 1.2 million American jobs. 

“Meanwhile, the Outer Continental Shelf Transboundary Hydrocarbon Agreements Authorization Act (H.R. 1613) enacts terms of an agreement signed by the Obama administration that make development and production in the Gulf fairer for American companies.

“The White House may truly believe that ‘a war on coal is exactly what is needed,’ as one senior White House advisor reportedly said recently, but a war on coal and other sources of affordable energy is actually a war on jobs and middle-class families. In fact, coal alone is responsible for more than 760,000 American jobs and 40 percent of our electricity. 

“That’s why our ‘all-of-the-above’ energy strategy makes up one of the cornerstones of the House Republican Plan for Economic Growth and Jobs (available online at www.gop.gov/jobs). This plan contains a number of ideas to expand American energy – including the two bills above – and approve popular jobs-creating projects, like Keystone XL. And it couldn’t come at a more important time, as millions of Americans remain out of work and the cost of everything from gas to groceries is on the rise. 

“In the weeks and months ahead, Republicans are going to keep listening to the American people, and urging President Obama to reverse course and work with us to unleash the potential of America’s energy resources. 

“It won’t be easy for the president to do this. He’ll face a lot of political pressure from The Left. But after four and a half years of the Obama administration blocking, restricting and rejecting access to domestic energy, it’s clear that the current approach isn’t working for American families and job creators.” 

Boehner represents Ohio’s 8th District, which includes all of Butler, Clark, Darke, Miami, and Preble counties, and the southernmost part of Mercer County. He was first elected to Congress in 1990.