With the price of a barrel of crude oil fast approaching $140, it's no secret that our country is facing the most dire energy crisis in our history. Increasing demand and limited supply are causing prices to skyrocket with no end in sight. Jay McGovern recognizes the brutal impact these record gas and energy prices have on family budgets. While Ander Crenshaw offers more of the same failed, backward looking policies of the past eight years, Jay McGovern understands the complexity of the crisis we're facing and offers a fundamentally new way of thinking about energy solutions. McGovern knows that there is no single answer for removing our dependence on foreign oil. We need a sound, comprehensive approach to solving these problems, and Jay McGovern is just the man for the job. While some talk about energy solutions, McGovern makes it happen.
Jay McGovern is an engineer who is trained to solve problems. It's his job to take big problems, to break them down into smaller, more manageable problems, and to find solutions to those issues. He's carried over this analytical approach to problem solving into his personal life. Jay processes his own bio-diesel to fuel his car. While gas is $4 a gallon, Jay makes his own diesel to fuel his car for about 80 cents a gallon. At his farm, Jay has installed solar panels on his barn to produce hot water for his farm. In other words, Jay has lived his life in the pursuit of finding better alternatives to the energy dilemmas of our day, the types of renewable and alternative energy solutions in which our country so urgently requires investment.
On the other hand, Ander Crenshaw's voting record on energy legislation during his past eight years in office proves that he doesn't get what needs to be done to adequately address our gas and energy crisis. Here's a quick overview:
● Voted NO on raising corporate average fuel efficiency (CAFÉ) standards; incentives for alternative fuels. [Bill HR.6 ; vote number 2003-630 on Nov 18, 2003]
● Voted YES on passage of the Bush Administration national energy policy which authorized 25.7 billion dollars of tax breaks for the oil and energy industries while offering little in the way of incentives for conservation, alternative fuel, or renewable energy development. [Energy Policy Act of 2004; Bill HR 4503 ; vote number 2004-241 on Jun 15, 2004]
● Voted NO on keeping the moratorium on offshore drilling for oil. [Ocean Energy Resources Act; Bill H R 4761 ; vote number 2006-354 on Jun 29, 2006]
● Voted NO on removing oil & gas exploration subsidies which sought to end the unwarranted tax breaks & subsidies which have been lavished on Big Oil during the Bush Administration, a time of record prices at the gas pump and record oil industry profits. [Long-Term Energy Alternatives for the Nation(CLEAN); Bill HR 6 ("First 100 hours") ; vote number 2007-040 on Jan 18, 2007]
● Voted NO on tax incentives for renewable energy. [Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act; Bill H.R.5351 ; vote number 08-HR5351 on Feb 12, 2008]
Based on this record, it's no surprise that Crenshaw received a 0% rating from the Campaign for America's Future (CAF) on energy issues and a 5% rating from the League of Conservation Voters on environmental issues.
Crenshaw also supports a "gas tax holiday" over the summer. This idea, which John McCain and George Bush also support, has been thoroughly debunked as a gimmick that only enriches the pockets of Big Oil while passing on paltry savings to the consumer at the pump. Furthermore, this proposal does nothing to address the root cause of the problem -- our dependence on foreign oil. While Crenshaw offers gimmicks, McGovern provides real solutions.
The United States has only 5% of the world's population. However, we account for 30% of the world's automobiles, and we produce 45% of the world's automotive carbon dioxide emissions. Our addiction to oil harms our environment, our economy, and our national security. Jay McGovern understands these hard realties and knows that the only way we're going to break this costly cycle is to invest heavily in alternative fuel solutions and renewable sources of energy.
In much the same way the Space Race spawned numerous technological innovations in aerospace engineering and electronic communication which we consider commonplace today, Jay believes we should embark on a similar, bold, new race to develop sustainable and renewable energy sources. Whether it's clean coal, bio-fuels, wind, solar, hydrogen fuel cells, nuclear, or any future renewable technology that works – they're all components of a bigger, comprehensive solution.
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