Encourage Research In New Technologies: Both the economy and environment benefit from technological breakthroughs. High-capacity, long-life batteries; fuel cells; the
high-efficiency "smart" electricity grid; clean coal and other technologies can help improve the environment, increase efficiency & conserve energy. Unreasonable barriers to their development should be identified and removed to help make them a reality.
Click for John Kasich on other issues.
Source: 2018 Ohio gubernatorial campaign website JohnKasich.com
Donald Trump on Energy Independence:
(Energy & Oil Nov 8, 2016)
Fracking will lead to American energy independence
Q: Should the United States meet all its energy needs domestically?Trump writes, "The natural gas reserves we have in the United States could power America's energy needs for the next 110 years," and there is enough crude oil to last for decades.
He supports a dramatic escalation of domestic drilling to provide jobs and minimize dependency on foreign cartels. "Fracking will lead to American energy independence. With price of natural gas continuing to drop, we can be at a tremendous advantage."
Clinton's State Department took steps to try and facilitate the export of hydraulic fracturing technology, to enable allies with promising shale geologies to replicate the U.S. oil and gas production boom; referred
to natural gas as a "bridge fuel" as part of the transition from coal to renewable energy; Her energy diplomacy platform included vocal concern about geopolitical and economic risks driven by climate change. Source
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: 2016 AFA Action iVoterGuide on 2016 presidential hopefuls
Mike Pence on Energy Independence:
(Energy & Oil Nov 1, 2016)
Support wind, nuclear, fracking, and offshore drilling
Q: Should the government give tax credits and subsidies to the wind power industry?Mike Pence's answer: Yes
Evan McMullin's answer: No
Tim Kaine's answer: Yes
Donald Trump's answer: No, and the government should never support unproven
technologies
Gary Johnson's answer: No
Q: Do you support the use of hydraulic fracking to extract oil and natural gas resources?
Mike Pence's answer: Yes
Evan McMullin's answer: Yes
Tim Kaine's answer: Yes
Gary Johnson's answer:
Yes, but increase oversight
Donald Trump's answer: Yes
Q: Should the U.S. expand offshore oil drilling?
Mike Pence's answer: Yes
Evan McMullin's answer: Yes
Tim Kaine's answer: Yes
Donald Trump's answer: Yes
Gary Johnson's answer: Yes, and deregulate the energy sector
Q: Do you support the use of nuclear energy?
Mike Pence's answer: Yes
Evan McMullin's answer: Yes
Tim Kaine's answer: Yes
Click for Mike Pence on other issues.
Source: iSideWith.com analysis of 2016 presidential hopefuls
Rand Paul on Energy Independence:
(Energy & Oil Jan 15, 2015)
Supports Keystone XL, plus domestic oil & gas exploration
My plan would also approve the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. I have consistently and repeatedly voted to allow this project to proceed. Rather than create thousands of new jobs, expand America's refining capacity, and strengthen our unique
partnership with neighboring Canada, President Obama has elected instead to block any progress on building the Keystone XL, in stark contrast to the "all-of-the-above" approach to energy production he claims to support.
By allowing domestic oil, gas and mining exploration to proceed while encouraging the competitive development of alternative, renewable energy sources, I believe that the principles I have set forth in my budget plan are a significant improvement over
the Obama Administration's hostile approach to traditional energy development. As a U.S. Senator, I am committed to doing what is not only best for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, but also the United States as a whole in developing a sound energy policy.
Click for Rand Paul on other issues.
Source: 2015 official Senate website www.paul.senate.gov
Mike Pence on Energy Independence:
(Energy & Oil Jan 13, 2015)
All-of-the-above energy strategy instead of EPA over-reach
Because low-cost energy is vital to our economy, we need an all-of-the-above energy strategy, including energy efficiency.
But know this, Indiana is a pro-coal state, and we must continue to oppose the overreaching schemes of the EPA until we bring this war on coal to an end.
Click for Mike Pence on other issues.
Source: State of the State address to 2015 Indiana Legislature
Mike Pence on Energy Independence:
(Social Security Apr 9, 2014)
Cutting Social Security should be on the table
Pence spent 12 years in Congress as a leading fiscal conservative. During his tenure he backed efforts to reform Social Security. In 2010, when asked whether he'd support making cuts to Social Security, Pence told CNN, "I think everything has to be on
the table." When asked if he'd raise the retirement age, he said, "I'm an all-of-the-above guy. We need look at everything on the menu." At the time, he said any reforms should just affect Americans under the age of 40.
Click for Mike Pence on other issues.
Source: CNN.com on 2016 Veepstakes, "Pence on Social Security"
Barack Obama on Energy Independence:
(Energy & Oil Jan 28, 2014)
Natural gas is a "bridge fuel"; then go solar
One of the biggest factors in bringing more jobs back is our commitment to American energy. The all-of-the-above energy strategy I announced a few years ago is working, and today, America is closer to energy independence than we've been in decades.
One of the reasons why is natural gas--if extracted safely, it's the bridge fuel that can power our economy with less of the carbon pollution that causes climate change.
It's not just oil and natural gas production that's booming; we're becoming a global leader in solar, too. Every four minutes, another American home or business goes solar; every panel pounded into place by a worker whose job can't be outsourced.
Let's continue that progress with a smarter tax policy that stops giving $4 billion a year to fossil fuel industries that don't need it, so that we can invest more in fuels of the future that do.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2014 State of the Union address
John Hickenlooper on Energy Independence:
(Energy & Oil Jan 10, 2013)
Innovative drilling technology for abundant natural gas
Innovative drilling technology for abundant natural gas
Colorado's economic welfare depends on how effective we are in developing all of our resources. Our physical welfare requires we protect public health and safety as we develop these resources. We can reduce carbon emissions, create good-paying jobs
Innovative drilling technology for abundant natural gas
communities to create agreements and oversee local inspections. What doesn't work is a patchwork of rules and regulations.Because of innovations in drilling technology, cheaper, abundant natural gas is helping to make America energy secure for the
Click for John Hickenlooper on other issues.
Source: 2013 Colorado State of the State address
Steve Bullock on Energy Independence:
(Energy & Oil Nov 6, 2012)
Develop our resources for American energy independence
Steve believes Montana can:- create good paying jobs in research, technology, development and manufacturing and attract businesses to invest here,
- lead the country in educational innovation, opportunity and achievement--and be a place
where students are able to graduate from college without debt,
- be a place that maintains its rural identity,
- responsibly develop our resources and lead the way to American energy independence and a clean energy future.
Click for Steve Bullock on other issues.
Source: Montana Governor campaign 2012 website, www.stevebullock.com
Barack Obama on Energy Independence:
(Energy & Oil Sep 4, 2012)
All-of-the-above approach to reduce foreign dependence
Q: What policies would you support to meet the demand for energy while ensuring an economically and environmentally sustainable future?A: Since taking office, I have supported an all-of-the-above energy approach that will allow us to take control
of our energy future, one where we safely and responsibly develop America's many energy resources--including natural gas, wind, solar, oil, clean coal, and biofuels--while investing in clean energy and increasing fuel efficiency standards to reduce
our dependence on foreign oil. I know the country that harnesses the power of clean, renewable energy will lead the global economy in the 21st century. That's why I have made the largest investment in clean energy and energy efficiency in American
history and proposed an ambitious Clean Energy Standard to generate 80 percent of our electricity from clean energy sources like wind, solar, clean coal, and natural gas by 2035.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: The Top American Science Questions, by sciencedebate.org
Barack Obama on Energy Independence:
(Energy & Oil Jan 24, 2012)
All-of-the-above energy; enough natural gas or 100 years
Nowhere is the promise of innovation greater than in American-made energy. We've opened millions of new acres for oil and gas exploration, and more than 75% of our potential offshore oil and gas resources. Right now, American oil production is the
highest that it's been in 8 years. Last year, we relied less on foreign oil than in any of the past 16 years.But with only 2% of the world's oil reserves, oil isn't enough. This country needs an all-out, all-of-the-above strategy that develops every
available source of American energy--a strategy that's cleaner, cheaper, and full of new jobs.
We have a supply of natural gas that can last America nearly 100 years. Developing this energy will support more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade.
And I'm requiring all companies that drill for gas on public lands to disclose the chemicals they use. America will develop this resource without putting the health and safety of our citizens at risk.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2012 State of the Union speech
Donald Trump on Energy Independence:
(Energy & Oil Mar 16, 2011)
It's incredible how slowly we're drilling for oil
[Saudi Arabia and OPEC] are absolutely salivating. Now who knows how long they're going to be around. They are only there because of us. It always amazes me when they raise the price. Nobody ever talks to them, nobody ever says no, you're not going to
do this. It's not the market [raising the price], it's OPEC. They set the price of oil. If they did it in this country, it would be called illegal.
I think it's incredible that we're going slow on drilling. I think it's beyond anything
I've ever seen that we're going slow on drilling.
there are always going to be problems. You're going to have an oil spill. You clean it up and you fix it up and it'll be fine.
I have people in the business and they say it's almost impossible to
get a permit to drill. So you can imagine how hard it is to get nuclear and other things but they say it's almost impossible. If you look at natural gas, we're the Saudi Arabia times 100 of natural gas--but we don't use it.
Click for Donald Trump on other issues.
Source: Devonia Smith Political Transcripts Examiner
Barack Obama on Energy Independence:
(Energy & Oil Nov 15, 2010)
De-facto moratorium on shallow as well as deepwater drilling
Along with the official moratorium on deep-water drilling, the Obama administration had a de facto moratorium on shallow-water drilling. Before the BP spill, federal authorities regularly issued permits to drill in shallow water. After the spill, the
issued permits reduced to a trickle. Most of these shallow-water operators were not a part of "big oil"---they were small, independent producers. Their operations in, say, 200 feet of water had nothing to do with what happened at Deepwater Horizons.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Leadership and Crisis, by Bobby Jindal, p. 20
Michael Bennet on Energy Independence:
(Energy & Oil Aug 11, 2010)
Permanent tax incentives to spur renewable energy growth
We also need to prioritize energy independence, because our job growth on clean energy has been 18% since 1998, double our job growth in other areas.
That's why I support a federal renewable energy standard of 25% by 2025, and permanent tax incentives to spur renewable energy growth.
Click for Michael Bennet on other issues.
Source: League of Women Voters 2010 Candidate Questionnaire
Nikki Haley on Energy Independence:
(Energy & Oil Jun 21, 2010)
Supports off-shore drilling near South Carolina coast
South Carolina Republican gubernatorial hopeful Nikki Haley said she would support oil drilling off her state's coast as governor. "But before we go forward
I think we need to be very careful going forward that we know exactly what we're walking into and how we're going to do that."
Click for Nikki Haley on other issues.
Source: Political Ticker, CNN, "Off'shore drilling"
Joe Sestak on Energy Independence:
(Energy & Oil Jun 14, 2010)
Offshore drilling moratorium; oversight of Marcellus Shale
Toomey is skeptical of proposals to expand federal oversight of drilling in the Marcellus Shale fields. He opposes open-ended moratoriums on new ocean drilling, arguing that the nation needs the oil from deep water wells.Sestak counters that
Toomey's aversion to government regulation poses short- and long-term threats to the environment and the economy. Sestak has endorsed legislation that would bring Marcellus Shale drilling under the oversight of the Safe Drinking Water Act. He has echoed
President Barack Obama's call for a strict moratorium on offshore drilling. Before the Deepwater Horizon spill, he expressed reservations about the administration's decision to expand the areas available for offshore drilling.
Those issues have provided ammunition for persistent sniping: "Toomey sides with Big Oil in the wake of BP disaster," Sestak charged in a press statements. "On energy, Sestak to the left of many Democrats," a Toomey statement contended.
Click for Joe Sestak on other issues.
Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette coverage of 2010 PA Senate Debates
Joe Biden on Energy Independence:
(Energy & Oil Nov 17, 2009)
1970s: Voted against the Trans-Alaska Pipeline
I respected Biden's decades of experience, but I also knew him as one of just a handful of members of the US Senate who way back in the 1970s had actually voted AGAINST the Trans-Alaska
Pipeline, an economic lifeline that would ultimately result in thousands of American jobs, 15 billion barrels of oil pumped into the economy to date, and a huge chunk of domestic energy production.Over the years, I had occasionally listened to
Biden's discussions of energy and realized he had not changed. He still seemed opposed to sensible innovations, from clean coal to nuclear energy to responsible new directional drilling techniques in places like ANWR. On one issue after another, Obama's
VP choice was loaded with government experience but still seemed to have no understanding of logical steps we could take to capitalize on American energy resources.
Click for Joe Biden on other issues.
Source: Going Rogue, by Sarah Palin, p.288-289
Barack Obama on Energy Independence:
(Energy & Oil Aug 4, 2009)
Offshore drilling ok if part of comprehensive energy package
Obama was caught flat-footed when McCain, recognizing the growing concerns about four-dollar-a-gallon gasoline, proposed ending the ban on offshore drilling. Obama's first instinct was to cling to traditional
Democratic orthodoxy, which saw the issue through the prism of environmentalists. He was forced, awkwardly, to yield by making clear he would accept offshore drilling as part of a more comprehensive energy package.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: The Battle for America 2008, by Balz & Johnson, p.306
Barack Obama on Energy Independence:
(Energy & Oil Aug 27, 2008)
Drilling is a stop-gap measure, not a long-term solution
For our economy, our security, and the future of our planet, I will set a clear goal as President: in ten years, we will finally end our dependence on oil from the Middle East. Washington’s been talking about our oil addiction for the last 30 years, and
McCain has been there for 26 of them. He’s said no to higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars, no to investments in renewable energy. Today, we import triple the amount of oil as the day that McCain took office. Now is the time to end this addiction,
and to understand that drilling is a stop-gap measure, not a long-term solution. As President, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. I’ll help our auto companies re-tool,
so that the fuel-efficient cars are built in America. I’ll invest 150 billion dollars over the next decade in renewable energy--an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can’t ever be outsourced.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Speech at 2008 Democratic National Convention
Barack Obama on Energy Independence:
(Principles & Values Aug 27, 2008)
Fulfilling America’s promise means individual participation
We must also admit that fulfilling America’s promise will require more than just money. It will require a renewed sense of responsibility from each of us to recover what John F. Kennedy called our “intellectual and moral strength.”
Yes, government must lead on energy independence, but each of us must do our part to make our homes and businesses more efficient. Yes, we must provide more ladders to success for young men who fall into lives of crime and despair.
But we must also admit that programs alone can’t replace parents; that government can’t turn off the television and make a child do her homework; that fathers must take
more responsibility for providing the love and guidance their children need. Individual responsibility and mutual responsibility -- that’s the essence of America’s promise.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Speech at 2008 Democratic National Convention
Barack Obama on Energy Independence:
(Technology Jul 1, 2008)
Invest in a digital smart grid for electricity utilities
Obama's plan states that it "will reduce oil consumption by at least 35%, or 10 million barrels per day, by 2030." Obama's plan to set America on a path to energy independence states that he will:- Increase fuel economy standards: Obama will double
fuel economy standards within eighteen years. Obama will also invest in advanced vehicle technology such as advanced lightweights materials and new engines.
- Set national building efficiency goals: Barack Obama will establish a goal of making all new
buildings carbon neutral, or produce zero emissions, by 2030. He'll also establish a national goal of improving new building efficiency by 50% and existing building efficiency by 25% over the next decade to help us meet the 2030 goal.
- Invest in a
digital smart grid: Obama will pursue a major investment in our utility grid to enable a tremendous increase in renewable generation and accommodate modern energy requirements, such as reliability, smart metering, and distributed storage.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Obamanomics, by John R. Talbott, p.137
Hillary Clinton on Energy Independence:
(Principles & Values Aug 8, 2007)
Bring your brooms & vacuum cleaners; we got to clean up DC
We’re going to try to do national health care as soon as we get in there. We’re going to move for energy independence and create those millions of new jobs. We’re going to finally have an education policy that actually will work for students and teachers
and families and communities.There’s going to be a lot of repair work to do, and I’m going to ask people to come to Washington. Bring your brooms. Bring your vacuum cleaners. We’ve got to clean the place out and get to work together.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: 2007 AFL-CIO Democratic primary forum
Hillary Clinton on Energy Independence:
(Energy & Oil Jun 8, 2007)
Energy Independence 2020: $50B for Strategic Energy Fund
In Dec. 2005, Hillary hooked up with an alliance of environmentalists and unions to help unveil a new Democratic plan, “Energy Independence 2020.”[In a speech introducing the plan,] after praising solar power and wind technology,
Hillary turned her attention to her villains--the oil companies--and discussed the legislation she hoped to pass that would force them to change their ways. Unless they diversified away from fossil fuels and into preferred, renewable technologies,
her bill would require that they be assessed heavy windfall-profits taxes. This new revenue source, estimated at $50 billion, would finance a government energy fund that invested in innovative energy research.
Hillary introduced her promised
legislation to create a federal “Strategic Energy Fund” financed by oil company taxes. But her energy bill, while music to the ears of the Left, overreached her colleagues. Hillary could not find another senator to cosponsor her bill.
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: Her Way, by Jeff Gerth & Don Van Natta, p.279-283
Barack Obama on Energy Independence:
(Principles & Values Feb 15, 2007)
Replace partisan bickering with politics of hope
Obama called for universal health care, energy independence, an effective policy to stem global warming, and an end to loud and uncivil, Rush-Limbaugh-like public discourse. “We have come to be consumed by a
24-hour, slash-and-burn, negative-ad, bickering, small-minded politics that does not move us forward,” he said in
Portsmouth, aiming his critique at both Republicans and his own party as they glowered across a gaping, ever-widening partisan gulf. “Sometimes one side is up, and the other side is down.
But there is not sense that they are coming together in a common-sense, practical, nonideological way to solve the problems that we face.”
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Hopes and Dreams, by Steve Dougherty, p. 17-18
Bill Nelson on Energy Independence:
(Energy & Oil Oct 23, 2006)
We can’t drill, drill, drill our way to oil independence
Q: Both of you agreed to allow oil drilling, at a distance, off Florida’s coast. Should we drill elsewhere, or wean America off of oil? HARRIS: There are a number of alternatives to drilling in the Gulf, including wind and solar and biofuels.
But very importantly, if we don’t want to drill in the Gulf, there’s an enormous opportunity to drill in ANWR. It’s the equivalent to having a football field and putting a postage stamp in the middle of it. That would supply the equivalent of 29 years of
energy to Florida. Unfortunately, my opponent continues to vote against exciting opportunities like that.
NELSON: The problem with folks who want to drill, drill, drill is that the US only has 3% of the world’s oil reserves but consumes
25% of the world’s oil production. It doesn’t take a mathematical genius to understand you can’t drill your way out of the problem. You’ve got to go to the alternative sources, such as ethanol. Hybrids. Plug-in hybrids. Utilizing more conservation.
Click for Bill Nelson on other issues.
Source: FL 2006 Senate Debate moderated by PBS’ Linda O’Brien
Hillary Clinton on Energy Independence:
(Energy & Oil Oct 11, 2006)
$50B strategic energy fund from taxing oil companies
Amidst rising gas prices in June 2006, Clinton declared that US energy independence was “absolutely feasible” providing Congress created a “federal legal framework that encourages people to make the right decisions.” In May 2006,
Clinton unveiled a proposal for a “virtual revolution” in energy, to decrease the use of foreign oil by 8 million barrels a day by 2025. The plan called for the creation of a $50 billion “strategic energy fund” by increasing taxes on oil companies.
Clinton also suggested the government force oil firms to invest in unproven, renewable fuels like ethanol.
Clinton, in short, sought to reallocate money from fuel that consumers do buy (oil) to fuel that they don’t buy (renewables).
Clinton’s plan was consistent with her tenacious opposition to any measure allowing oil companies to increase domestic drilling [both in ANWR and off the US coast].
Click for Hillary Clinton on other issues.
Source: Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy, by Amanda Carpenter, p. 62-63
Barack Obama on Energy Independence:
(Energy & Oil Oct 1, 2006)
We cannot drill our way out of our addiction to oil
It is hard to overstate the degree to which our addiction to oil undermines our future. Without any change to energy policy, US demand for oil will jump 40% in 20 years. Over the same period, worldwide demand will jump 30%.A large portion of the
$800 million we spend on foreign oil every day goes to some of the world’s most volatile regimes. And there are the environmental consequences. Just about every scientist outside the White House believes climate change is real.
We cannot drill our way
out of the problem. Instead of subsidizing the oil industry, we should end every single tax break the industry currently receives and demand that 1% of the revenues from oil companies with over $1 billion in quarterly profits go toward financing
alternative energy research and infrastructure.
Over the last 30 years, countries like Brazil have used a mix of regulation and direct government investment to develop a biofuel industry; 70% of its new vehicles run on sugar-based ethanol.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p.167-169
Barack Obama on Energy Independence:
(Energy & Oil Jun 14, 2006)
3-way win: economy, environment, & stop funding terror
Progressives are the folks who believe in energy independence for America. We believe that we can harness homegrown alternative fuels and spur the production of fuel-efficient hybrid cars, and break our dependence on the world’s most dangerous regions.
We understand that we get a three-for: We can save our economy, our environment, and stop funding both sides of the war on terror if we actually get serious about doing something about energy. We understand that.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Annual 2006 Take Back America Conference
Barack Obama on Energy Independence:
(Energy & Oil Sep 28, 2004)
20% nation’s power supply from renewable sources by 2020
Neither American security, nor our economic potential, can afford to be held hostage by those half a world away because our nation is too dependent on others for our energy. This requires concrete steps to move us toward energy independence including
requiring that 20% of the nation’s power supply portfolio come from renewable sources like wind, solar, biomass and geothermal energy by 2020, and that a percentage of our nation’s fuel supply is provided by renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: 2004 Senate campaign website, ObamaForIllinois.com
Barack Obama on Energy Independence:
(Energy & Oil Jul 12, 2004)
Free America from its dependence on foreign oil
[We should] free America from its dependence on foreign oil. We must take concrete steps to move us toward energy independence including requiring that 20 percent of the nation’s power supply portfolio come from renewable sources like
wind, solar, biomass and geothermal energy by 2020, and that a percentage of our nation’s fuel supply is provided by renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel.
Click for Barack Obama on other issues.
Source: Press Release, “Renewal of American Leadership ”
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