| Weekly Update from Sam |
| Dear Friends,
Best wishes for a happy Independence Day as you celebrate our great nation with your families and friends. Around the Fourth of July, gas prices are often a factor in travel plans and this year is no exception with gas prices on the rise. In fact, this week’s national average price per gallon of $3.68 is double the price from when President Obama took office less than 6 years ago.
Our economy is fueled by affordable energy, and rising prices quickly increase the pressure on small business budgets. Small businesses face a ratio of energy costs per sale that is 2.7 times what a large company pays. When costs go up, they have to raise prices, cut jobs or postpone major investments in equipment, and the economy suffers as a result.
Developing America’s own energy resources creates good jobs, strengthens national security and boosts the economy, but much of America’s abundant oil and natural gas supply remains off limits under the President’s red tape policies. Legislation passed by the House this week would help streamline the bureaucratic tangle to reduce the price at the pump and create jobs. We also held a hearing that examined the bureaucratic barriers to our nation’s oil production and refining capacity. Small businesses will benefit from a responsible ‘all-of-the-above’ energy strategy that expands production from America’s vast onshore and offshore oil and natural gas sources, facilitates the effective transport and refining of our domestic resources, and lifts antiquated bans on exports.
Sincerely,
Sam Graves
Chairman
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Latest Committee Action
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| On Thursday, the Small Business Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy and Trade, under the chairmanship of Rep. Scott Tipton (R-CO), examined the disparity between the growing rate of domestic crude oil production and a limited refining capacity, and explored how that mismatch affects small energy businesses, energy costs and the economy. Regulatory roadblocks and refining impediments limit the benefits of domestic energy production and hold back the job-creating innovations that small energy businesses offer, while a ban on exports limits investment in the energy sector. |
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News from Washington
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On Tuesday, the House passed the North American Energy Infrastructure Act (H.R. 3301). The bill streamlines red tape to allow updates in energy infrastructure that keep up with new technologies and innovations, and requires that cross-border oil pipelines be approved within 120 days unless they are found to compromise national security interests. The decision-making debacle that has delayed the Keystone project should never happen again.
On Wednesday, the House passed the Domestic Prosperity and Global Freedom Act, (H.R. 6) which expedites exports of U.S. liquefied natural gas to our allies by placing a 30-day deadline on the Department of Energy to issue a final decision on applications to export natural gas. Due to advancements in technology and equipment, natural gas output by the U.S. has rapidly increased over the last decade and is expected to continue rising.
On Thursday, the House passed the Lowering Gasoline Prices to Fuel an America that Works Act (H.R. 4899), which increases offshore oil production by requiring the Obama Administration to move forward with new offshore energy production in areas containing the most oil and natural gas resources. The bill increases onshore oil production by streamlining government roadblocks and bureaucratic red-tape that block and delay onshore American energy production.
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Notable Op-Eds
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Fox Business
Bureaucratic Roadblocks Lead To Rising Gas Prices
By Rep. Scott Tipton
Missouri Times
Small Business Program Mismanagement Epitomizes Obamacare Incompetence
By Rep. Sam Graves
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| June 27, 2014 |
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| What We're Reading |
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Small Biz Resources
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| Tweet of the Week |
@SmallBizGOP #USA has the ability to be an #energy production juggernaut b/c of recent innovations & marketplace fund http://bit.ly/1lPwb0L @fbsmallbiz
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