Bush Energy Plan Could Be the Best Economic Stimulus of All

By Thomas Donohue
May 2001

The political environment in Washington this year has been characterized by heated debate over how to best jolt our sluggish economy without compromising the nation's future. A sizeable tax cut? Certainly. Smart monetary policy on the part of the Feds? That too. But a less obvious, though equally effective, economic stimulant is the Bush administration's energy plan—one of the largest job-producing, economy-boosting pieces of public policy in decades.

A high-tech economy and a rapidly growing population are fueling a demand for energy that requires a substantial investment in the nation's energy infrastructure.

In the next twenty years, we need to build 10 new oil refineries and as many as 1,900 power plants. We need to drill at least 25,000 additional natural gas wells per year until 2020. And we need to construct 38,000 miles of new natural gas transmission pipelines and 255,000 miles of new distribution lines—a $150 billion investment by itself.

Add to the balance sheet thousands of miles of new electrical transmission lines and a new oil pipeline necessary for oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), and what you get is thousands of new jobs and tens of billions of dollars in new business investment—the very two economic ingredients that are critical to putting our economy back on track.

A new study shows that oil drilling in ANWR alone would create 700,000 new jobs. Nationwide, new jobs in tanker and pipeline construction, oil refining and transportation would give a shot in the arm to the one sector of the economy that has not escaped a full recession—the manufacturing industry.

Beyond its effect as an economic stimulus, the Bush energy strategy is balanced, responsible, and workable. It calls for an expansion of our energy infrastructure, increased gas, coal, oil, and nuclear energy production, streamlined approval processes, and an easing of regulatory barriers.

Increased conservation and the development of feasible alternative and renewable sources of energy are an equally important part of the Bush plan. Despite what some environmentalists say, business supports conservation. Any business that wastes anything—power, resources, or talent—won't be in business very long. And it's business that is pouring valuable resources into new, cleaner technologies, such as hybrid gas-electric vehicles.

The Bush energy plan wisely encourages conservation and increasing the nation's use of renewable and alternative sources of energy by extending tax incentives for the development of clean coal technologies, wind and solar energy, hybrid and fuel cell cars, and energy generated by organic waste, or biomass. It also sets aside federal funds for research into fuel cell-powered buses.

The Bush energy plan is a two-for-one special for Americans. It takes care of this country's long-term energy needs while creating plentiful new job and business investment opportunities in the short run. The Bush energy strategy is good for the country's economic future, good for consumers and working Americans, and good for business.

Thomas J. Donohue is President and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.