RSS
Home › News › Local News
Rep. Barrett promotes energy indepedence act
STORY TOOLS
Share and Enjoy
RELATED STORIES
Related Links
More Local News
- Counties in Anderson area move to simplify handling of illegal immigrant inmates
- Stephens County development authority raises money to research effect of low lake levels
- Oconee County names CVB director, sees tourism trending upward
Rate this Article
Photo Gallery
Domestic Oil Production talk
U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett, R-SC talks to a crowd at the M & N Quick Stop in Anderson Friday about a bill H.R. 6001, stressing domestic oil production at the gas station in Anderson, one of his three stops in the Upstate area.
ANDERSON — U.S. Rep. Gresham Barrett, R-S.C., made three stops in the Upstate Friday to promote legislation that he says would make America less dependent on foreign energy sources.
A small crowd of news reporters and businessmen gathered outside the M&N Quick Stop in Anderson to hear Barrett explain the legislation.
The Main Street USA Energy Security Act of 2008 would allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and increase domestic refining capabilities. It would allow the U.S. Department of the Interior to grant oil and natural gas leases, assist nuclear plants in expanding their domestic manufacturing base and enable the Department of Energy to enter agreements with up to six coal liquefaction projects.
The bill also provides an eight-year extension of the 30 percent business investment tax credit for solar energy and fuel cell projects and gives the Department of Energy another bioenergy research center.
Barrett says that enacting the legislation would be costly, but says it’s a necessary investment in the future.
“It’s time to stop talking,” he said. “We’re 35 years behind the power curve. … If we wait till tomorrow, it’s 35 years plus one day too late.”
Republican leaders and the House’s energy and commerce committee want to expand the bill, but environmentalists say a Democratic-run Congress won’t pass it. Tom Manning, who chairs the Foothills Group of the South Carolina Sierra Club, said the legislation is nothing more than an election year ploy.
Manning said Americans should put more emphasis on developing renewable energy sources. The measures proposed in Barrett’s bill, such as coal liquefaction, use more energy than they create, and drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge would only create enough oil to supply the nation for a year, Manning said.
“The federal government needs to undertake the equivalent of a Manhattan project,” he said. “And we could do it in this country.”
Barrett, who stopped in Walhalla and Easley after visiting Anderson on Friday, sees the bill as a bridge between today’s rising energy prices and tomorrow’s green solutions.
“I’m sick and tired of seeing my people take their entire paychecks and put it in their gas tank when it should be going to education, to their future,” he said.
Comments
There are 15 responses to this article.
Comments are meant to offer our readers a forum for thoughtful, robust debate about local issues.
Comments are moderated, but you may find the content of the conversations offensive, objectionable or factually disputable.
IndependentMail.com does not necessarily condone the comments here, nor does it review every post or respond to every suggestion for a comment to be removed.
Before you post, consider this:
Please read our official user-contributions policy.
While he is speaking, maybe someone can ask Mr. Barrett about the $ 14,800 he has taken from oil companies to use toward his campaign? I have to work, so I can't come, or I would ask him myself.
I saw this being taped as I rode by on the CAT bus. Instead of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, I've decided to conserve energy and ride the bus to work. Perhaps instead of holding a news conference beside his government SUV, Mr. Barrett should have been on that bus with me promoting its use.
Way to go Klay67. You are part of the solution. People can come up with all kinds of ideas why gas is so high but when it comes down to it the main reason is supply and demand. We are extremely wasteful as a nation and finally it is hitting us where it hurts, our wallets.
What is "indepedence?"
I think he could do more for us if he would stay in Columbia and get legislation passed concerning gas prices,and illegal`s, instead of running around making speeches at convience stores.
in response to screwdriver
Why would he stay in Columbia? He is a US representative!
The man is a Bush clone. He should be voted out of office as soon as possible. Barrett is a big reason this country is in the mess it is in.
Bush clone my Arse. Gresham Barrett is right on track on this issue and we are fortunate to have him working for us.
Mr. Barrett is right! Oil is like other commodities and we need to produce more. We can not let other countries produce every thing for us.We can manufactor more product and lower the cost, it is called supply/demand.Construction of refineries and power plants are type of high paying jobs we need in this area now!We must help ourselves and sitting at home or riding a bus is not the answer.
in response to theflash
Nope, its just common sense to me, more demand equals higher cost and if we produce more of our own it will help some. There is NO quick fix to this problem and more taxes is a step in the WRONG direction. Heck some of the people bashing Barrett do not even know what office he holds but they know how to fix the high cost of fuel, go figure.
Rep. Barrett is right. I completely agree with him. But the beauty of the situation is that if you DISagree with him like some posters here, you get to vote for or against him every 2 years. Well . . . that's if you actually realize what office he holds!
I certainly agree with rep. Barrett. I only wish that other people would realize that we need to conserve, have alternative energy sources, ect. as a long term goals, but now, we need to drill our way out of our existing problem and add additional nuclear power plants and quit using our food supply to solve this energy problem.
It’s not a bad bill. The Federal Government needs to lift restrictions on drilling for oil in our own territory. It’s asinine that we are relying on enemy nations to provide us with our energy when we can drill in Alaska and off the Pacific and Gulf coasts. We also need to build more nuclear plants and use the vast resources of coal we have in the northeast.
This bill won’t pass, however. Most of the Democrats and some Republicans are beholden to the extreme environmental lobby. It’s amusing to listen to people blame Bush for gas prices when the fault partially lays in the hands of those currently controlling Congress.
http://www.carolinapoliticsonline.com
in response to 57freebird
the whole supply and demand excuse is a smoke screen for the oil companies to gouge us. sure there is supply and demand, but they don't change overnight the way gas prices do. do you REALLY believe demand has increased 300% since gas was $1.25 a gallon. besides, the prices you see quoted per barrel are speculative prices being traded on contracts three months out. what does that have to do with the price of gas today. it should be consistent with the price per barrel three months ago. read the real deal if you want to know the truth http://seekingalpha.com/article/76752... it is one of those little BS excuses oil executives throw out there when it is suggested they are gouging the public.
If you believe drilling for oil in Alaska will help our current oil crisis, then you have no understanding of how the price of oil is set. Oil prices are not set by OPEC or our government. They are set by Commodities Exchanges. You've probably heard them refered to as "futures." This is because these traders look at current events (like the war) and speculate on the supply at a point in the future. This "speculation" determines the price of a barrel of oil. So, drilling right now in the United States will not have an effect now or in the next few years on the price of oil.
Also, according to the United States Geological Survey, production from the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge will max out at 10.4 billion barrels.
Klay is right. Decreasing our dependence is the only answer. There are no quick fixes on this. When your entire executive branch is full of people who have made fortunes feeding our oil addiction, nothing is going to change unless it is on a grassroots level.
(Requires free registration.)