Newsletter - Summer is Here!

Statement

Friends,

As summer quickly approaches and students start summer break, many North Carolinians are preparing for vacation. Although reaching the vacation destination is the objective, the time spent in the car traveling with friends and family is just as enjoyable. Summer road-trips are a great time to bond with the ones you love and explore our great country. Whether you're planning to travel to the Carolina beaches or to visit family in another state, the last thing you want to worry about is the damage done to your pocketbook because of the outrageous price of gasoline.

I regularly hear concerns from constituents about this steady increase in gas prices. The prices have nearly doubled in the past four years, increasing from $1.85 in January 2009, when President Obama first took office, to $3.65 in May 2013. From soaring prices at the pump to electricity bills going up at home, North Carolinians are hurting because the government continues to stand in the way of domestic energy exploration and production.

We must do everything we can to tap into the wealth of energy resources here at home in order to reduce costs and reduce our reliance on foreign oil. That is why I voted in support of the Northern Route Approval Act, a bill that will clear out the roadblocks preventing the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, a $7 billion private-sector infrastructure project that will create thousands of jobs and bring greater energy security to America.

For over four years, construction of the Keystone XL pipeline has been tied up in regulatory review by the Obama Administration. President Obama and his anti-energy allies have implemented numerous roadblocks that prevent the construction of the pipeline, halting the development of American energy and infrastructure and driving energy supplies down and prices up. The Northern Route Approval Act will exempt the proposed project from the existing requirement to obtain a Presidential permit and deem various actions by federal agencies involved with permitting decisions related to the proposed pipeline to be satisfied and certain federal permits to be granted.

According to the Department of Energy, the Keystone XL pipeline will be able to move 830,000 barrels of oil per day, which represents about half the amount the U.S. currently imports from the Middle East. In addition, the pipeline will create 20,000 jobs immediately and an additional 100,000 over the long term.

By denying the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, the Administration is obstructing our path to energy independence. For too long, the President has supported numerous energy and environmental regulations that drive up energy prices while destroying millions of jobs. These policies aren't working. It's time to unleash America's own energy potential that will create American jobs through American energy exploration. It's commonsense. As your elected Representative, I will continue to support policies that will open up our lands for exploration and development, increase production of domestic oil and natural gas, and prevent big government bureaucrats from regulating every part of our lives.

Until next week,

Richard Hudson
Member of Congress (NC-08)

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