API welcomes House proposal for U.S. energy policy that supports jobs, energy security

WASHINGTON, June 6, 2012 ? The American Petroleum Institute (API) welcomed legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, entitled the Domestic Energy and Jobs Act, that would create a real U.S. energy policy to increase production of the domestic oil and natural gas that America needs.

?Americans want to access more of our own energy resources, not only to enhance energy security, but also to put downward pressure on prices,? said Conrad Lass, API senior director of federal relations. ?The oil and natural gas industry can help revitalize the economy, create new jobs, and generate millions of dollars of new federal and state revenue, by safely accessing areas currently off limits.?

Efforts to increase leasing of federal lands and speed up the permitting process will do more to accomplish our energy goals than increasing industry development costs through punitive tax increases and duplicative or overly burdensome regulations.

?Excessive regulations can make it harder for refineries to compete and stay in business,? said Lass. ?Decisions made by policy makers should always be guided by a firm understanding of all the costs and impacts to the economy.?

API thanked sponsors of this legislation for continuing to showcase the importance of advancing comprehensive energy legislation.

API represents more than 500 oil and natural gas companies, leaders of a technology-driven industry that supplies most of America?s energy, supports 9.2 million U.S. jobs and 7.7 percent of the U.S. economy, delivers more than $86 million a day in revenue to our government, and, since 2000, has invested more than $2 trillion in U.S. capital projects to advance all forms of energy, including alternatives.

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