Issue Position: Energy

Issue Position

Energy reform is perhaps one of the most critical issues facing our State and Country. Americans pay high prices at the pump day after day and our dependence on foreign oil continues to threaten our national security. Until alternative solutions can become cost effective, we need to increase domestic production of oil.

By increasing domestic production we would gain on multiple fronts:

*Lesson dependence on foreign countries.
*Lower prices of oil.
*Create tens of thousands of new jobs in direct oil production.
*Create 100's of thousands of jobs in indirect job creation, including manufacturing.

To make this happen, Illinois and the Federal Government must cut burdensome regulations and expedite the permit process. We can also explore areas that are currently off limits to domestic production like the Alaskan Energy Slope, the oil shale areas of Colorado, Utah and
Wyoming and the outer-continental shelf.

While domestic production of oil is an immediate economic boost, we do need to continue to be the leader in researching and developing other alternative forms of energy including wind, solar, clean coal and nuclear.

Source