Capito Says Congress Must Seek Comprehensive Energy Plan

Statement

Capito Says Congress Must Seek Comprehensive Energy Plan

Broad Solutions Must Replace Piece by Piece Effort Says Congresswoman

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) today continued her call for a comprehensive energy plan as the House of Representatives considered legislation to swap oil from the National Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) in an attempt to provide short-term relief at the pump.

"Thankfully today's bill only proposed a swap of oil in our reserves, rather than simply making an irresponsible withdrawal that would have jeopardized our national security," said Capito. "While I would have welcomed any temporary relief that could have resulted from today's legislation, we must remember that swapping oil from our reserves does not constitute a broad-based set of energy solutions."

"I firmly believe we can have a bipartisan consensus for expanding our nation's supply of domestic energy, promoting conservation and investing in renewable technology - but such a comprehensive proposal has yet to be considered by this Congress."

The Consumer Energy Supply Act would have swapped 70 million barrels of light crude from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and replaced it with 70 million barrels of heavy crude. Some estimates suggest that doing so could lead to a short-term decrease in the price of energy, though its impact would be limited over the long-term. Capito supported today's measure, but it failed to achieve the two-thirds vote required for passage.

Capito has been a regular advocate for a comprehensive approach to the current energy challenges. She has introduced legislation to expand investment in coal-to-liquid technology that would mandate the production of 6 billion gallons of coal-to-liquid fuel by the year 2022. She is also part of a bipartisan working group on energy that is seeking bipartisan consensus in the House of Representatives.

"West Virginians are looking to Congress for some bipartisan leadership on this issue," said Capito. "Whether it's Republican solutions or Democratic solutions, most West Virginians simply want to see real action."

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