Issue Position: Energy & Environment

Issue Position

With the abundance of coal, oil and natural gas, wind, and nuclear energy resources within our borders, our nation needs Wyoming. The economic health of Wyoming is equally affected by federal energy policies enacted in Congress, as mineral income comprises nearly two-thirds of total revenue in our State.

While I believe that an "all of the above" energy strategy for our country is laudable, we must pay careful attention to the amount of tax-payer dollars we funnel to inefficient and ineffective sources of energy. Every source of energy has a trade-off, and I believe those trade-offs must be recognized in every case. We need a diversified energy portfolio, but we deceive ourselves if we believe we can solely depend on one source or another. Instead, we must focus on finding ways to use traditional energy resources in a cleaner and more efficient manner, while smartly investing in research and technology that will help us bring viable alternative energy to market.

Wyoming is also the geographic intersection of the national pipeline system and electric transmission grid. Increased energy production is all for naught if we continue to constrain ourselves with an aging and inefficient transmission system. Until we find ways to work together to improve the process by which new transmission lines are sited and built in this country, private industry has little incentive to invest in new construction. This is a reality we must address as we work to move closer to energy independence.

Finally, I believe it is incumbent upon us all to find ways to help sustain the way we live and work. All of us share a responsibility to pass on to future generations the kind of world that values good stewardship of our land and shared resources. Like so many other things, balance is required between effective stewardship and sustaining our economic viability. I do not believe in heavy-handed mandates sent down from faceless bureaucracies, or that achieving environmental perfection at the cost of our economic freedom is a prudent approach. I do believe in the power of human ingenuity to tackle these issues reasonably, and will continue to work for balance in our environmental policies.

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