NEW: Doherty Wants Less Red Tape in Renewable Energy Development
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Brendan Doherty, Republican candidate from Rhode Island’s First Congressional District, today called on Congress and the President to work together to cut needless red tape that is impeding the growth of renewable energy through private investment.
“In honor of this past weekend’s 42nd celebration of Earth Day, it is important for all Americans to recognize and honor our commitment as a Nation to environmental conservation and protection,” stated Doherty. “With an increasing focus on energy conservation and the development of renewable energy projects that are beginning to dot our landscape, it is clear that we are on our way toward a greener future. We should promote greater development of renewable energy by making additional federal lands available for renewable energy development and streamline the permitting process for these projects, as proposed recently by the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.”
Doherty referred in his comments to the Jobs Council recommendation that the U.S. adopt an “all-in” strategy on energy, including additional domestic production of traditional fuels and the promotion of energy conservation and innovation. Doherty also referred to legislation that was approved by the House Natural Resources Committee (e.g. H.R. 2170, the Cutting Red Tape to Facilitate Renewable Energy Act) by a bipartisan vote of the Committee.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“There is a clear opportunity for consensus between the two parties in Washington on this issue;” continued Doherty “and the benefits of this reform would be far reaching. The United States is in a fiscal crisis and our fragile economy is threatened consistently by wild fluctuations in the cost of imported oil. We trail behind other countries in the development of renewable energy because of a massive tangle of bureaucratic red tape. In this time of high unemployment and fiscal uncertainty, we can’t afford to risk hard-earned tax dollars on any more bad deals like Solyndra.”
In 2011, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce reported that federal, state, and local regulatory red tape prevented American businesses from creating nearly two million new green energy jobs and generating more than a trillion dollars in economic output.
“America simply can’t afford to miss such an opportunity to create jobs and economic growth any longer. This is an area of agreement between both political parties – unnecessary red tape that delays renewable energy projects is not good for America’s future. Congress and the President can and should work together to address the inefficiencies in our regulatory regime and allow faster permitting for renewable energy projects that will be environmentally beneficial and create good paying jobs for American workers,” concluded Doherty.
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