Nye announces Common Sense Energy Plan

This morning, 2nd CD Democratic candidate Glenn Nye announced his Common Sense Energy Plan. The details from his press release:

COMMON SENSE SOLUTIONS:
LOWER GAS PRICES AND ENERGY INDEPENDENCE
Glenn Nye for Congress

America is a nation of abundant resources and unparalleled ingenuity. When challenged,
we have throughout our history risen to the moment and achieved great solutions.
Yet Washington has spent years ignoring problems, bickering over partisan talking points and waiting while the American people demand action. Election year pandering is not the answer. We must achieve energy independence to strengthen our national security and our economic future. America needs action, and we need it now.

1. TAKE IMMEDIATE COMMON-SENSE STEPS TO LOWER GAS PRICES

CLOSE THE ENRON LOOPHOLE AND CRACK DOWN ON SPECULATORS

We can immediately bring down the price of gas by instituting sensible regulatory oversight on energy trading markets. Washington bickering stopped legislation that would have closed the Enron loophole and lower the price of oil by $20-$60 a barrel. It is time for Congress to practice oversight.

We need a Representative who refuses to take oil and energy PAC money, so voters will know that their member of Congress works for them and not the oil companies. Undue influence by oil and energy companies led to the Enron loophole, and it will take independent leaders to close it.

Irresponsible speculation is artificially driving the price of oil through the roof. We need strong leadership to crack down on the speculators who are profiting off Americans’ escalating burden. Energy trading has been exempted from traditional regulatory oversight since 2000 , and there has been a direct correlation in the spike of oil. It is time to pass H.R. 6604 and amend the Commodity Exchange Act.

STOP PRICE GOUGING

At a time when Americans are paying record prices for gas, keeping oil companies from illegally inflating the price of gas further is just common sense.

Washington politicians have been standing in the way of sensible legislation that would stop price gouging. We need to make sure that our families, who are already paying too much for gas, are not taken advantage of. It is imperative that the existing regulatory bodies have the tools they need to combat such price gouging, and we must empower state Attorney General offices and the Federal Trade Commission to enforce the civil and criminal violations of price gouging. I support re-investing such price gouging penalty fees into a fund dedicated to providing relief for consumers.
BALANCE THE BUDGET AND STRENGTHEN THE DOLLAR
Strengthening the dollar is the best way to immediately bring down the price of oil. We must balance the budget to strengthen the dollar.

Out of control spending in Washington has lead to record deficits and is weakening the dollar on the world market. We need smart fiscal leadership to get our financial house in order. The first step is to eliminate blind earmarks so the taxpayers can see where their money is spent and that Representatives are held responsible for every line item in the federal budget. Also, we must pass a balanced budget amendment to ensure our fiscal discipline.

2. STOP PUTTING THE PROBLEM OFF: DRILL NOW AND BRING DOMESTIC OIL TO MARKET

We cannot afford to wait for more delays. We must drill immediately on the currently available land and explore new avenues for drilling. It is time to stop putting the problem off 10 or 15 years into the future. Our families are suffering now, not 10 years from now. Its time to drill now and bring domestic oil to market.

According to the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources, drilling immediately on available land and offshore could double US production of oil. Oil companies currently hold leases for millions of acres on the Outer Continental Shelf and there are millions of acres available for leases in Alaska. Much of this leased land has not been fully utilized for commercial production.

We can drill offshore, and explore all avenues including lifting the moratorium, but Virginia Beach is not the place to drill. We can and should meet our energy needs without taking steps that will put both our relationship with the Navy and our sailors and Marines at risk. The Navy has opposed drilling in the Virginia Capes Area because of the negative impact it will have on training exercises. The Navy is too important to our district, and the safety of our service men and women is too vital to recklessly put oil derricks off the coast of Virginia Beach.

All new lease payments derived from opening new areas for exploration should be diverted into an alternative energy fund to allow us to become a world leader in alternative energy technology.

3. LEAD THE WORLD IN ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

The time has come for America to be a world leader in alternative energy sources. We must invest in alternative sources of energy to compete with oil so the market can bring down costs for American families. In order to spur innovation, America must rescind the billions of dollars in tax subsidies to big oil companies like Exxon Mobil (which made $11.6 Billion in profit in the most recent fiscal quarter) and reinvest in alternative energies.

A MEDIUM TERM STRATEGY FOR READY ALTERNATIVES TO OIL

Biodiesel is a vital part of the equation for moving our country towards energy independence. The technology exists to use biofuels, but a significant investment must be made in new sources of energy like algae, switchgrass and others. We must incentivize not only research, but production of American biodiesel-fueled cars and the installation of biodiesel pumps at gas stations to create the infrastructure needed to move us off of foreign oil dependence. An up-front investment in becoming a world leader in biofuel development, production and infrastructure that will become self-sustaining and profitable will provide long-term dividends in creating non-exportable green collar jobs and make our nation more secure.

A LONG TERM STRATEGY TO BECOME THE WORLD LEADER IN ALTERNATIVE ENERGY

All options, including nuclear power, must be on the table as we put our nation’s unmatched research infrastructure to work on making America the world leader in alternative energy. We must extend the Production Tax Credits and Investment Tax Credits that enable research and development of alternative energy.

We must make serious investments in wind, bio-diesel, and solar by rescinding the taxpayer subsidies to wealthy oil companies and investing those funds in alternative energy. We already have viable energy production from a host of renewable sources–from solar to geothermal–and we only need the will to make them market-ready. Our country is one of the world’s richest sources of wind power, and we could create thousands of new jobs in America by harnessing this new industry. Investing in alternative energy is not just a matter of industrial power, but a matter of our national security and economic resurgence. We can rid ourselves of our dependence on foreign oil by practicing smart conservation and producing the renewable sources at home. As we did in the Information Technology revolution, we can export cost-competitive energy solutions to the globe and be a world leader in the clean energy economy.

In addition, the campaign released a comparison of Nye’s positions on energy as compared to those of the incumbent, Thelma Drake.

Thelma Drake’s Energy Record	Glenn Nye’s Plan for Energy Independence
Drilling: Thelma Drake supports expanding drilling off the coast of Virginia Beach. When confronted about Navy objections to drilling in Virginia training ground, Thelma Drake contends that oil derricks will make Navy drilling more realistic. (Military Opposes Offshore VA Drilling Plan, VA Pilot 04/27/06)	Drilling: Glenn Nye is a proponent of drilling immediately on the 68 million acres of leased land and coastal region. He is committed to increasing domestic supply and supports letting states decide about increasing drilling. He is opposed to drilling off Virginia’s coast, in agreement with the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy. He objects to oil derricks obstructing training exercises and endangering our Marines and sailors. (Donald R. Schregardus, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy 10/07/05)
Price Gouging: Thelma Drake voted against the Federal Price Gouging Prevention Act. When questioned about her opposition to price gouging legislation, she responded that it “makes it very difficult for your local gas station to know when he’s breaking the law and when he’s not breaking the law.” (HearSay with Cathy Lewis, 07/09/08 )	Price Gouging: Glenn Nye supports legislation to combat price gouging. He believes we need to give regulatory bodies, such as state Attorney General offices and the Federal Trade Commission, the tools they need to prosecute illegally inflating the price of gas. He supports putting such penalties into a consumer relief fund. (Prevent Unfair Manipulation of Prices Act of 2008 )
Regulating on Speculators: Thelma Drake refuses to close the Enron Loophole. She did not join 61 of her Republican colleagues and support the Commodity Markets Transparency and Accountability Act of 2008. Drake opposed this bipartisan measure to regulate the commodity exchanges and safeguard against manipulating the price of oil. (H.R. 6604)	Regulating on Speculators: Glenn Nye advocates regulatory oversight of the commodity markets. He supports closing the “Enron loophole” created in 2000 in the Commodity Exchange Act. Glenn Nye proposes we place commodity exchanges under traditionally regulated authorities and end speculative spikes in the price of oil. (S. 3134)
Alternative Energy: Thelma Drake gives lip service to supporting alternative energy, but her record indicates otherwise. Thelma Drake did not join 35 of her Republican colleagues for the bipartisan Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008. While she now talks of supporting alternative energy legislation with profits of expanding drilling, she has refused to fund bipartisan renewable energy solutions. (H.R. 6049)	Alternative Energy: Glenn Nye is a strong supporter of renewable energy legislation. He believes in extending the Renewable Energy Tax Credits that promote renewable energy technology, and research & development. He supports rescinding oil subsidies and investing that money in a broad base of alternative energy solutions, including solar, wind, and an array of biofuels. Glenn believes fully supporting renewable energy and energy independence is imperative to our economic future and national security.