Is it time for federal energy policymakers to quit relying on cherished assumptions? Washington observers increasingly ask this question, not simply because it's an election year but also because what will need to happen after with the federal budget is so critically important.
The American Petroleum Institute, in its Vote 4 Energy program, says further US oil and gas production growth would be a major generator of jobs and contributor to a broader US economic recovery. It calls for policies which make more federal acreage available—both onshore and offshore—and facilitate permit and regulatory approvals without compromising safety or the environment.
It hasn't been that long, however, since US President Barack Obama said the US has only 2% of the world's oil reserves and represents 25% of its oil demand. This justified federal research and development support for renewable and alternative sources, he indicated.
More recently, the president and US Sec. of the Interior Ken Salazar have highlighted US crude production growth that has occurred during Obama's nearly 4 years in office. Republicans have quickly responded that this occurred on state and private land onshore, and that production from federal leases there has fallen in that period.
Such exchanges leading up to an election are part of the political process. They're even understandable when a lawmaker clearly is playing to his or her constituents.
Inaction unjustified
They should not be excuses for failing to act. US Rep. Gene Green (D-Tex.) was on target when he observed, during a recent House Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing, that the people would be better served if members of Congress took fewer positions and passed actual legislation.
Hardly anyone denies that technological breakthroughs are unlocking previously inaccessible US oil and gas resources onshore. If Congress finally tries to grapple with larger federal budget problems in 2013, as several Washington energy observers expect, more members and leaders of its energy committees will need to understand that a domestic oil and gas resource outlook that emphasizes scarcity no longer applies.
Then they'll need to do something which was common in many parts of Congress 30 years ago, but has generally been missing in recent years: actually work together to reach common solutions, and make them law. That includes acknowledging that problems associated with developing these resources should be recognized and addressed, and not simply dismissed as obstructionist tactics.
A serious US oil and gas policy debate is years overdue. The prospects should be too exciting to prevent it from happening in 2013. Its potential contribution to solving the nation's fiscal and economic problems could be enormous if federal policymakers finally get serious