Gen. Jones: Current Energy Bills Will Hurt American Families and Businesses

Pending Legislation will Raise Prices, Restrict Supplies

WASHINGTON, D.C.- In a letter to Congressional leaders, Gen. James L. Jones, President and CEO of the Institute for 21st Century Energy, warned that pending energy bills would have the unintended consequence of raising fuel and power prices across the American economy, driving jobs overseas, and creating a financial hardship for families and businesses.

"Some provisions of the House and Senate energy bills would saddle our economy with costly and unworkable regulations, which will drive up the price of gas and electricity for American families, while jeopardizing jobs in manufacturing and other sectors," Jones wrote. "Other provisions would make it more difficult to expand domestic energy supplies from all sources, at a time when we must do so to keep energy affordable, keep jobs in the United States, and reduce our dependency on foreign sources."

Jones praised the legislation for placing a strong emphasis on efficiency, but expressed concern about other elements, including provisions that would scale back provisions in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 designed to expedite oil and gas drilling on public lands and offshore areas; impose unworkable and unrealistic mandates governing biofuels, CAFE standards, and investor-owned utilities; and raise taxes on America's private sector energy companies, hurting their ability to compete worldwide against government-owned or controlled oil companies.

Jones urged lawmakers to ensure that any final legislation increases domestic energy production from all available sources, avoids mandates and taxes that would raise prices, and "moves us toward greater energy efficiency and a cleaner environment, while also ensuring a competitive American economy."

The mission of the Institute for 21st Century Energy, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, is to unify energy stakeholders and policymakers behind a common strategy to ensure that America's supply of fuel and power is adequate, diverse, and affordable, while protecting national security and improving the environment. The Institute also conducts international outreach to address global energy challenges.

The U.S. Chamber is the world's largest business federation, representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region.
The letter can be viewed at http://www.energyxxi.org/.

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