My position on oil policy starts with lifting all regulations that prohibits drilling in ANWAR, Prudhoe Bay, the California coast, the Gulf of Mexico, and other inland and offshore oil reserves within the United States. When President Bush lifted the moratorium on oil, oil prices dropped from a high of approximately $147 per barrel to $33 per barrel. Gasoline dropped from a national average of $4.70 per gallon, to approximately $1.65 per gallon. With the implementation of the preceding recommendations, oil should drop from its current level to approximately $10-$20 per barrel. Gasoline should drop from approximately $4.00 per gallon to $1.25 to $1.50 per gallon.
Next, I propose to ask Congress to earmark $1.00 per gallon tax which will bring gasoline to $2.25 to $2.50 per gallon. This tax will bring in approximately $1.4 trillion per year in revenue to apply one trillion dollars to the national debt PER YEAR, which will leave an excess of 400 billion dollars in surplus. I plan to work with Congress to apply $100 billion per year to NASA. The remaining $300 billion will be applied to different projects in the next few months. Some of those projects include medicare, Medicaid, as well as to help each state with their debt situations due to the actions of the 111th Congress and President Obama.
With the preceding implementation, this will put 10 to 30 million Americans back to full employment within 2 years of my inauguration.
Here is a brief rundown of recent events with regard to US energy policy: 40 years ago, America imported only about 25 percent of its oil. Because of the federal government’s interference in the open market and the passing of legislation by Congress that hinders the development and extraction of oil from American soil, we are now importing over 60 percent of its oil, much of it from countries hostile to our own interests. Our political representatives have allowed our country to become too dependent upon the oil production levels of other nations that has not only resulted in higher prices at the gas pumps, but has also compromised our national security.
Due to population growth, demand for gasoline in the United States has dramatically increased, but no new higher refining production limits has been added in many years to meet consumer demand. Political displays of feigned disgust by Congress toward oil company executives will not change this productive reality. Seven years ago, the US Energy Information Administration reported that the oil industry in the US made over $40 billion in profits, even though they spent billions of dollars on prospecting, drilling, carrying, and refining their petroleum product. However, the federal and state governments collectively took $58.4 billion in taxes from the oil companies with no ensuing investment. Since corporations do not really pay taxes, they just pass along the cost of the taxes to the consumers by raising their prices.
The United States must approach the issue of domestic oil production just as we did when the Soviet Union rocketed their first Sputnik into orbit. Shortly after, President Kennedy motivated the country and promised to put a man on the moon within ten years. We can develop a tactical plan to become energy independent in five years by increasing American production of petroleum reserves, while at the same time encouraging the development of environmentally safe alternative energy technology that would free America from its reliance on foreign oil production states. Freedom from oil reliance is also in the best interests of our national security. Depending on foreign governments for our oil supply, some of which may be less than friendly to the United States, is definitely not in the best interest of our nation’s security.
We must stop pandering to the socialist environmentalists who would endanger out country by preventing us from using our own natural oil reserves. The United States has the resources and the know-how to solve our energy needs. Industry experts have determined that ANWAR has well over 120 billion barrels of oil which can be processed to produce over 2.2 trillion gallons of refined motor gasoline, in addition to 420 billion gallons of ultra-low sulfur distillate fuel oil (including diesel fuel and heating oil). In addition, the continental shelf off our shores is estimated to have close to 90 billion barrels of oil which can be processed to over 1.5 trillion gallons of refined motor gasoline and 315 billion gallons of distillate fuel oil. In addition, there is an estimated accessibility of 2 trillion barrels of shale oil in the United States, which produces about 20 trillion gallons of refined motor gasoline and 7 trillion gallons of distillate fuel oil. If Congress had opened ANWAR to drilling even ten short years ago, our country would be that much closer to curtailing its reliance on foreign oil today. As the United States motor gasoline usage peaked at 137 billion gallons in 2007, and in fact has steadily decreased as technology improves, this means that the U.S. has well over 100 years of sustainable gasoline reserves alone, and ultimately five times that amount with technical improvements and shift to natural gas sources.
- We must meet our energy needs with a 3-year strategic plan that provides a balanced combination of drilling, research and development that will ensure both our financial and environmental future. The plan should include the following:
We should take a thorough approach by promoting offshore drilling, eliminating regulations that hamper refining, and eliminating detrimental tax rules that discourage domestic oil production. - We must repeal federal regulation, taxes, and fees that obstruct the development and production of new energy sources. Alternative sources must prove their feasibility in the open market. All energy sources that are cheaper, cleaner, and environmentally sound, yet still reliable, will not need much government help to develop and promote through free trade.
- Finally, I support the repeal of federal regulations that hamper the development of coal, natural gas and nuclear energy.