In Wirt County Visit, Capito Renews Call for Energy Action

Statement

In Wirt County Visit, Capito Renews Call for Energy Action

Congresswoman Tours Well at Historic Home of Oil Exploration

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) got a first hand look at a West Virginia oil well in her visit to Wirt County on Wednesday. She toured Burning Springs Park and an active local well, while renewing her call for Congress to enact comprehensive energy legislation.

"At a time when gasoline prices have hovered around $4.00 per gallon, it's long-past time that we had a serious debate about our nation's energy policy," said Capito. "Yet Congressional leadership sent the House on a five week recess without holding a real debate or a vote on any comprehensive energy bill."

"Our challenges deserve pragmatic consensus building, but what we have is deadlock. Inaction won't solve our energy challenges and neither will a lengthy congressional recess."

As a member of a Bipartisan Working Group on Energy, Capito recently introduced the National Conservation, Environment and Energy Independence Act as a broad-based proposal to breakthrough the gridlock and address high energy costs.

The group's bill, which was sponsored by dozens of Democrats and Republicans, would repeal the federal ban on offshore energy exploration and use the federal royalties generated from oil and natural gas leases to fund investment in renewable energy technology, clean coal and conservation efforts.

Estimates suggest that repealing the ban on offshore drilling could generate up to $2.6 trillion in federal royalties, much of which could then be invested in alternative energy resources.

"There's no single solution to high energy costs," Capito said. "It's going to take an all of the above approach that seeks out any and all viable energy resources. That means traditional resources like oil, natural gas and coal - but also renewable resources like wind and solar energy technology."

"And of course, West Virginia is an energy state. Wirt County oil and gas has a role to play in our energy solutions, and so does West Virginia coal."

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