Support of Nuclear Energy Opposition to Cap and Trade New Committee Chairmanships Announced
Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA) has confirmed he has been selected as the Chairman of the Natural Resources Committee.
As part of the Committee statement, Hastings indicated that he would “pursue policies that both create jobs and protect our nation’s treasured lands, oceans and wildlife,” through “utilizing our vast natural resources in a safe, environmentally responsible way, we can create and keep jobs here in America, grow our economy and ensure that we are not dependent on foreign countries with far lower environmental standards for the energy, minerals and timber vital to our economy…”
Rep Hastings is known as a strong defender of dams and a proponent of nuclear power. He is credited for founding the bipartisan Congressional Nuclear Cleanup Caucus to promote the cleanup of nuclear waste sites, and among his colleagues has earned a reputation as an effective leader on nuclear cleanup issues.
Energy and Commerce has announced Rep. Fred Upton (R-Michigan) will be the news Chairman. Upton has served as co-chair of the House GOP American Energy Solutions.
Group, which is focused on lowering energy prices for American families and small businesses through the development of domestic energy sources. Upton has voiced his support as an “all of the above” approach with a greater emphasis on domestic exploration, the advancement of breakthrough technologies, and the promotion of emissions free nuclear power. The new chairman opposed cap-and-trade legislation and d needless regulations that stifle growth, kill jobs and raise energy costs.
House Science and Technology Committee has chosen long time Hill veteran, Chairman Ralph Hall (R-Texas) as its new Chairman. Hall’s has stated that he is strongly in favor of securing clean, domestic energy for economic growth and national security- a plan that includes conservation, efficiency, and production of domestically available fuels including wind, solar, biomass, and coal to liquids. The new chairman supports carbon-free nuclear power plants, technology to capture carbon emissions, sequester CO2 and make coal plants cleaner. He has also introduced an Ultra-deepwater bill, which established a research and development program to produce new technologies to drill in ultra-deep areas of the Gulf and on land, as well as drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and cap and trade a “ job killer” that will impost every American with a national energy tax.