On Nov. 7, Pennsylvania Senator Pat Toomey introduced a resolution in the Senate to protect American energy independence, reaffirming that a president may not unilaterally impose a moratorium on fracking on federal lands. This resolution would most likely not have been needed except for threats made by Democratic presidential hopefuls Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders and Kamala Harris. They and a few others have vowed to completely ban fracking if they are elected president in 2020. They would sacrifice America’s energy independence for the sake of getting a good sound bite. And a monumental sacrifice it would be. Perhaps it should be pointed out to them that 24% of all U.S. oil and 13% of all U.S. natural gas are produced on federal land.
A fracking Ban Would Take Us Ten Steps Back
In defense of the resolution Sen. Toomey said:
“Natural gas has been a game changer for our country and our commonwealth. It is our top source for electricity generation, reduces the cost of home heating for tens of millions of Americans, supports our vast manufacturing sector, cuts CO2 emissions, and diminishes our reliance on foreign sources of energy. It’s hard to overstate the benefits of natural gas. But now the top Democratic presidential candidates are competing with each other over who can be more hostile to this tremendous source of economic growth and national security. If enacted, their policies would abruptly end new natural gas extraction, drive up the cost of energy, cost many tens of thousands of jobs in Pennsylvania, create big holes in state and local government budgets, and increase our dependence on foreign energy sources once again. It is essential we push back on these ideas that threaten the prosperity and security of Pennsylvanians and Americans. I urge all of my colleagues to support this resolution.”
Making Deals with Russia
Sen. Toomey is also supporting legislation introduced by Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environmental and Public Works and an original co-sponsor of Toomey’s resolution, to end New York Gov. Cuomo’s blockade of interstate pipelines. This blockade has been forcing New York and New England to import natural gas from Russia.
We, as a nation, have so much natural gas we have begun exporting it, but because some higher-ups hate to admit that natural gas is a good thing, they are importing it from other countries — whose environmental standards are nowhere near as stringent as our own. America is the world’s poster child on how to protect the environment.
Sen. Toomey is correct. It is time to push back. We must protect American energy independence. Any kind of ban on fracking would be very bad for the economy and for the environment. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powel tried to put it kindly, “To shut down the shale industry, yeah, that would probably not be a good thing for the economy.”
