WASHINGTON, D.C.  -  With gas prices over $4 a gallon in Alabama, Congressman Mike Rogers said he was disappointed that a much-touted Democratic energy bill – legislation that was supposed to be a first step toward new domestic drilling – included expensive new mandates that could cause large increases in electricity rates for struggling East Alabama families. 

Rogers said he was also disappointed the bill, which allows very limited new drilling, includes restrictions that would exclude up to 88 percent of America’s off-shore energy resources from energy exploration. He said the bill also prohibits coastal states from receiving their fair share of royalty revenues from any new off-shore energy exploration.

Rogers said the bill, H.R. 6899, “is not a serious solution for helping increase our energy independence and falls short of providing the relief that struggling Alabamians need in this economy.” He criticized House Democratic leaders for passing the bill, which Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu (D) said would be “dead on arrival” in the Senate.

“I cannot support a bill that offers such limited new drilling options while passing on mandates that could also burden folks with even higher utility bills,” said Rogers. “Clearly the House Democratic leadership is more interested in providing political cover for their members instead of trying to solve our energy crisis. This bill is, quite simply, a political sham.”

Rogers said that Third District families are already facing punishing utility bill increases between 14% and 20% this winter – utility bills that could increase further under this legislation. He pointed out the bill’s costly renewable energy mandates were defeated earlier this year.

Rogers said he favors expanding the use of our nation’s domestic energy resources like drilling in ANWR and the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). At the same time, Rogers said Congress must dramatically increase its investment in homegrown American renewable energy solutions like cellulosic ethanol, hydrogen, wind and solar. He said he supports paying for these investments by repealing unnecessary tax breaks for Big Oil, initiatives he supported this year.

Rogers said instead of trying to score political points, Congress should debate his energy bill known as the FREE Act. The bill would allow drilling in ANWR and direct federal royalties and taxes collected there into a new Energy Independence Trust Fund. Those grants would fund alternative energy research at East Alabama institutions like Auburn and Tuskegee University.

Rogers said bill’s drilling provisions could have been the starting point of a reasonable debate on energy solutions, but the House Democrat leadership instead chose to play politics with folks’ pocketbooks by adding on a number of features that effectively killed the bill.

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