Congressman Louie Gohmert

Gohmert : “Keep Washington’s ‘One Size Fits All’ Energy Policy Out of Texas”

Thursday, June 4, 2009Capitol Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – During a House Natural Resources Subcommittee hearing today, U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert (TX-01) criticized Washington bureaucrats’ “one size fits all” federal energy regulations that will severely damage the progress being made by individual states.

The Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, on which Rep. Gohmert serves, looked at the appropriate role of the federal government in the regulation of shale gas, including that which is found in the rich Haynesville and Barnett Shale basins located in state of Texas.

Rep. Gohmert stated, “Shale is doing immense good during a difficult economic period by providing jobs, income, security, and American made energy. But federal takeover of the states’ self-governance will threaten all of this. I have had many independent operators tell me they will be forced to cease all exploration if the federal government takes over.

“At a time when many Americans are out of work and businesses are being forced to shut their doors, the hearing today once again demonstrates that a ‘one size fits all’ approach to energy regulation does not work. States, like my own state of Texas, who excel in the production of energy and environmental regulation of this production, must be allowed to do so without the interferences of Washington bureaucrats. Adding burdensome federal regulations and reviews will only drive up the cost of energy production and will ultimately cause our country to become more dependent on foreign sources of energy.”

Gohmert added, “It is time for Congress to look at the facts before it tries to shut down an industry which provides one of the largest non-tax sources of revenue to the federal government. Our nation must look at increasing the production of both oil and gas while at the same time continuing to develop viable alternative fuels instead of doing everything it can to hamper energy independence and security.”

The focus of today’s hearing was the environmental effects of hydraulic fracturing which is the process of bringing otherwise unrecoverable natural gas to the surface. Despite presenting no tangible evidence of adverse effects, out of touch environmentalists are once again trying to halt any domestic production of energy by asking the federal government to step in and regulate this nearly 70 year old process.

Rep. Gohmert represents the First District of Texas and has been a strong advocate of a holistic domestic energy approach, including the exploration and production of oil, natural gas, and shale, while also exploring and expanding the use of alternative energy sources, including nuclear, biomass, solar, and wind.