House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) delivered the following statement on the House floor today in support of H.R. 4480, The Domestic Energy and Jobs Act – an all-of-the-above American energy plan, including five bipartisan Natural Resources Committee bills, that will create new American jobs by streamlining burdensome government red tape, modernizing energy production processes and planning for America’s energy future production.

“Mr. Speaker, the legislation that we are voting on today is a clear, all-of-the-above plan to increase American energy production, lower gasoline prices and reduce our dependence of unstable foreign energy. But more than anything, this bill is about creating jobs. The Domestic Energy and Jobs Act creates good-paying, permanent jobs that will put people back to work and help grow our economy.

The only thing that the Obama Administration has been more hostile to other than American job creation, is American energy production. Frankly, that shouldn’t be a surprise because the two go hand in hand.

President Obama likes to talk about an all-of-the-above energy plan, but in reality, it’s a Nothing-from-America energy plan. This Administration has consistently said “NO” to new American energy production while happily forcing hardworking American taxpayers to spend over one million dollars a minute on foreign energy.

President Obama doesn’t want to drill for oil in Utah; perhaps he’d rather get it from Venezuela.

President Obama doesn’t want to drill for natural gas in New Mexico; perhaps he’d rather get it from Yemen.

President Obama doesn’t want to develop our oil shale in Colorado; perhaps he’d rather get oil from OPEC.

President Obama doesn’t want to import oil from our friends in Canada by approving the Keystone Pipeline, perhaps he’d rather import oil from countries who aren’t our friends in the Middle East.

And President Obama doesn’t want to drill off America’s coasts, but he sure doesn’t mind letting Fidel Castro drill 60 miles from America. And he doesn’t mind giving Brazil billions of dollars to help them drill off their coasts and then promise to be their “best customer.”

The American people need to understand that this Administration has taken the country in exactly the wrong direction when it comes to developing our vast energy resources. While President Obama has been digging the United States into massive fiscal deficits, he has also gotten America into an energy deficit from which it will take years to recover.

Energy production on federal lands is one of our best opportunities for job creation and energy security, but time and again it's blocked and delayed by Obama Administration policies. Under the Obama Administration, from 2010 to 2011 oil production on federal lands fell by 14 percent and natural gas production on federal lands fell by 11 percent. In stark contrast to this, oil and natural gas production on state and private lands boomed.

American Energy equals American Jobs. It’s a simple formula for job creation and economic growth but clearly it’s one that the Obama Administration doesn’t understand. Maybe that’s because they don’t know just how desperate Americans are for jobs. Just a few weeks ago, with unemployment at 8.2 percent and 23 million Americans looking for work, President Obama told the American people that the private sector is “doing fine.” If you don’t know how bad the problem is, how can you be expected to fix it?

In summary, this is the same President who has issued the lowest number of onshore energy leases since 1984. This is the same President who talks about an all-of-the-above energy plan but actively blocks the ability to produce more oil, natural gas and coal. For President Obama, all-of-the-above is just a politically convenient slogan, but for House Republicans it’s a real job creating energy policy.

A vote for the Domestic Energy and Jobs Act is a vote to put Americans to work and to help put America on the path towards greater energy independence.”

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