Obama Administration Pursuing Policies that Raise Prices at the Pump, Subject of Oversight Hearing and Report

WASHINGTON — House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) today led a hearing and highlighted a new report documenting Obama Administration policies that negatively impact domestic energy prices. Members heard testimony from EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes.

“The United States has the largest reserves in the world—resources that can provide good paying American jobs and fuel our economic expansion. But standing between that energy and U.S. consumers is an obstacle course of government red tape, regulation, delays and obfuscations,” Chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) said. He pointed to statements by President Obama and Energy Secretary Chu about intentionally raising energy costs for Americans and how these goals are being implemented throughout the government.

The committee’s report found that while the Obama Administration touts nascent “green” energy technologies, U.S. domestic energy resources are currently the largest on earth—greater than Saudi Arabia, China and Canada combined. It also noted that recent EPA and Department of Interior regulatory actions, some in collaboration with environmental groups or outside normal scope, are having a detrimental impact on independent energy producers.

“Viewed in tandem with Obama Administration efforts to slow production from the Gulf of Mexico, block “fracking” a technology that would increase domestic oil production by 40 percent in only five years, and stifle production on public lands, this can be seen as nothing less than a concerted campaign to raise the price of energy as a means to force the issue of green alternatives,” Issa added.

“Today’s hearing exposed the many ways the government is limiting access to our vast natural resources. With this understanding, Congress can enact policies that support American businesses and consumers, rather than give more reasons to look overseas for economic opportunities and more favorable regulatory climates.

A complete copy of the report can be viewed online here. The 42 page report, “Rising Energy Costs: The Intentional Result of Government Action” identifies numerous Administration efforts to suppress domestic oil and gas production that lead to higher costs while helping the Administration promote expensive alternative sources of energy.

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