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Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 2 - American Energy Solutions for Lower Costs and More American Jobs Act

September 16, 2014


STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY

(House Rules)

(Rep. Terry, R-Nebraska, and 15 cosponsors)

The Administration strongly opposes H.R. 2, which purports to promote and increase the Nation's energy security, but which would undermine energy security and endanger human health and the environment.

H.R. 2 is a reiteration of various bills that previously have been voted on by the House during this Congress, including several for which the Administration has issued Statements of Administration Policy strongly opposing the bills and stating that, if presented to the President, his senior advisers would recommend that he veto them.

Specifically, H.R. 2 would roll back policies that support the continued growth of safe and responsible energy production in the United States. It also would discourage environmental analysis and civic engagement in Federal decision-making. Furthermore, the bill would impose a system for automatic approval of natural gas pipeline projects that could lead to confusion, increased litigation, delay, and potential denial of the projects that the bill intends to expedite. It also would circumvent longstanding and proven processes for determining whether cross-border pipelines and electric transmission facilities are in the national interest by removing the presidential permitting requirement.

H.R. 2 would endanger public health and the environment by halting U.S. progress in cutting dangerous carbon pollution from power plants, prohibiting the Federal Government from ensuring that hydraulic fracturing activities taking place on Federal and Indian lands are managed in a safe and responsible manner, and requiring the implementation of a court-vacated rule that would not adequately protect drinking water and watersheds from strip mining. The bill also would delay or potentially prevent the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from fulfilling its legal obligation to protect public health and the environment by requiring the Department of Energy to undertake duplicate, costly, and time consuming reviews of energy-related EPA rules.

H.R. 2 runs contrary to the Administration's commitment to promoting safe and responsible domestic oil and gas development as part of an all-of-the-above energy strategy to increase domestic production and reduce dependence on foreign oil, while protecting the environment and human health.

If the President were presented with H.R. 2, his senior advisers would recommend that he veto the bill.

Barack Obama, Statement of Administration Policy: H.R. 2 - American Energy Solutions for Lower Costs and More American Jobs Act Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/307682

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