Herman Cain - Energy and the Environment
Summary
Herman Cain is a strong supporter of utilizing all available energy sources. He supports wind, solar, and nuclear energy. Mr. Cain also supports expanded drilling in all areas, including offshore and in ANWR.
Mr Cain does not believe in man-made global warming. He has stated that there has been no proven that global warming is a crisis. He opposed the cap-and-trade legislation, calling it nothing more that a tax scheme.
Support for Drilling
In May of 2008, Herman Cain wrote an article discussing his support for drilling for more oil. He notes his support for drilling onshore, offshore, and in ANWR.
May 26, 2008
Oil Abounds in America, but Democrats Vote to Keep It In the GroundThe Democrats in Congress have gone beyond ignoring real solutions to the pain at the gasoline pump and other critical problems. They are ignoring the people altogether in order to gain more political power.
Sadly, the mainstream media is allowing it to go almost unnoticed. I will not.
During the week of May 15, 2008, the Senate had three opportunities to increase the domestic production of oil and help ease our economy’s dependence on foreign oil. All three times the Democrats voted as a block to deny passage of critical oil liberating legislation.
The American Energy Protection Act of 2008 (Senate Bill 2958) would remove restrictions on oil exploration and drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). This would have opened access to about 24 billion barrels of oil, which is enough to keep America running for five years with no foreign imports, while other energy technologies are being developed.
Senate Bill 2958 was offered as an amendment to another bill on the floor of the Senate and the Democrats promptly voted it down. Only one Democrat, Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, voted yes with the Republicans on increased production.
Sen. Landrieu is running for re-election this year. She is the same senator that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid convinced at the last minute to change her vote on permanent repeal of the death tax in 2006. Her vote for the increased oil production bill is a bone to the furious business community of Louisiana for reneging on her commitment to kill the death tax.
Secondly, Senate Bill 2958 would have removed commercial leasing restrictions on oil shale rich areas of Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. Oil shale is a solid material containing oil, which makes it more expensive to extract than traditional oil liquids. But today’s oil prices have made access to this source of oil more cost effective.
It is estimated that there are two trillion barrels of unexplored oil shale right here in the United States. That’s trillion with a “t”.
Lifting the oil shale restrictions was considered separately as an amendment to the FY2008 Supplemental Appropriations Bill in Committee, and failed on a party line vote of 15 to 14. No Democrats voted in favor of oil shale development.
The third opportunity came as a motion on the Senate floor to give governors the authority for increased exploration on the OCS in their “backyard” for new areas of production. The motion was voted down by the Democrats 51 to 44 with three Democrats voting with the Republicans. Sen. Landrieu was one of the Democrats . . . another bone to the people.
The mainstream media’s preoccupation with trying to squeeze more drama out of the Democratic presidential primary has left the Democrats in Congress unchecked on other critical issues. This is not a new development. It’s just a worsening one.
As the Democrats in Congress hold useless hearings to attack oil companies, pass useless legislation to try and sue OPEC, and continue to promote their wrongheaded idea of a “windfall profits” tax, the people continue to endure the pain of their irresponsibility.
There is nothing more critical to our national security than addressing our rapidly increasing dependence on foreign oil. And there is nothing more frustrating than the Democrats in Congress continuing to block all attempts to explore the oil resources we have right here at home.
But there is still hope! The original Senate Bill 2958 is stuck in committee.
A few thousand emails to Sen. Jay Bingaman, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, might help to blast it onto the Senate floor. If you are interested, go to www.hermancain.com and click on “Do Something Now!”
Let’s see if the Democrats in the Senate can ignore 10,000 voices.
Opposition to Cap-and-Trade
In June of 2008, Herman Cain wrote an article in which he discussed his opposition to the cap-and-trade legislation being pressed through the House and Senate.
June 2, 2008
Lieberman-Warner: The Carbon Emissions Police Are ComingIn my column last week, I informed those who were not aware of how the Democratic leaders in the United States Senate had systematically and consistently blocked legislation (S.2958) that would have allowed oil exploration and drilling right here at the home of the brave.
Specifically, there are at least 24 billion barrels of untapped crude oil on government controlled land, and another estimated 2 trillion barrels of oil from a mineral called oil shale stuck in the ground in the western part of our country. But the Democrats say “don’t touch that”.
While most of us were observing our favorite Memorial Day activities last week, the Senate had already scheduled a debate of America’s Climate Security Act of 2007 for the week following Memorial Day, which is this week.
Maybe the mainstream media missed telling us about this, because the bill has several aliases to keep us unaware. It is called the Lieberman-Warner bill, named after its original sponsors, and designated S.2191, as well as S.3036, which became the designation after it was reintroduced in 2008 by Senator Barbara Boxer of California. That should be a clue right there about what kind of climate security they are proposing.
I will spare you the suspense. Here’s the layman’s description of the bill.
The Lieberman-Warner bill is a cap-and-tax energy scheme, a carbon-emissions rationing program, a new tax on businesses and consumers, a new big government central agency and new career opportunities for thousands of new lobbyists specializing in greenhouse gas regulations.
A more technical description is available from the Congressional Research Service at
www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s110-2191&tab=summary.The bill also establishes the Carbon Market Efficiency Board, which shall report on the national greenhouse gas emission market and provide cost relief measures if it determines significant harm to the U.S. economy.
Give me a break!
The people who conceived and wrote this crap are obviously descendants of the same people who wrote the original tax code in 1913, the Social Security legislation in 1935, the Medicare bill of 1965 and the out-of-control prescription drug legislation of 2004.
Just look at how well all of these “the government knows best” programs are working today, and we have a good idea of where this latest giant leap for mankind will work for our grandchildren.
Carbon emissions are an issue, but it has not been established that it is a crisis. Likewise, it has not been firmly established that global warming is a crisis. Additionally, there is a plethora of proactive ways to address these issues that are not even on the table, before we pass broad sweeping legislation filled with an abundance of unintended consequences.
But once again, the Democratic answer to every issue is more big government, more bureaucracy, more taxes and more restrictions on businesses and the people.
The response to my appeal to “Do Something Now” to get Senate Bill 2958 out of committee at www.hermancain.com has been spectacular. Thank you! Sen. Jay Bingaman of the Senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee will have a few thousand voices waiting for him when his staff checks his e-mails this week.
My web site also now has “Do Something Now #2”, which is a link to the online petition initiated by former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, demanding that Congress “Drill now. Drill here. Pay less.”
And stop the Lieberman-Warner bill!
Unless you would like to meet the Carbon Emissions Police, what are you waiting for? Go to “Do Something Now” and do it now.
Our grandchildren will thank you.
Crying Out for More Drilling
In June of 2008, Herman Cain wrote an article discussing the people's desire to see more domestic drilling and the Democrat's unwillingness to listen.
June 30, 2008
The People Cry Out for Domestic Oil Drilling, But Democrats are DeafA recent Consumer Reports survey as reported on the Fox News Channel indicated that 77 percent of Americans blame Congress for our oil price crisis. This implies that the Democrats’ attempt to shift the blame to oil executives, OPEC and oil speculators did not work.
Seventy-four percent of likely voters, according to a recent Zogby poll, support oil drilling in U.S. coastal waters. And yet the Democrats blocked legislation in the Senate and the House several times within the last few weeks.
Congressman Lynn Westmoreland has gotten 183 of his congressional colleagues to sign a simple petition that says, “I will vote to increase U.S. oil production to lower gas prices”, and as of June 28, 2008, not a single Democrat had signed the petition.
One has to say that the Democrats have shown incredible unity on ignoring public opinion, online petitions, congressional petitions, thousands of e-mails and phone calls for the sake of increasing their chokehold on power in the United States Congress.
Congratulations to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for keeping the Democratic ducks in line on the wrong side of the issue, while our dependence on foreign oil gradually picks the pockets of consumers and chokes the life out of our economy.
The list of lame excuses for their dogged position of not exploring the various resources we have right here at home would insult the intelligence of a fifth grader. Maybe they assume that most of their Democratic followers did not get past the fourth grade. I think not, but how else do you explain their deafness to the people?
This is another fine example of the “new direction” the Democrats promised in the 2006 election cycle – namely, backwards again.
Our days of cheap oil are over because Congress has allowed this country to get too far behind as a potential player in the world energy market.
Our energy situation will only get worse because the mass availability of alternative fuels and vehicles will take time to become commonplace.
The faceless enemy of capitalism and American energy independence has the Democrats in Congress right in the palm of its hands.
There is no single solution to our energy dilemma, and there is no one action by Congress or the president that will have an immediate effect on our pain at the pump. Inaction of the past has put us in our situation today, while today’s inaction by Congress will compound our energy problems of the future.
If the Democrats’ deafness to the people is pure political strategy, then it is a very dangerous strategy. Thomas Jefferson said, “The American people will not make a mistake, if they are given all the facts.”
The Democrats in Congress may be deaf to the people, but the people will not be blind to the facts forever.
Neil Cavuto Appearance
In early 2012, Herman Cain appeared on Neil Cavuto and spoke about drilling offshore, in ANWR, and in numerous other places.
South Carolina Debate
On May 5, 2011 Herman Cain participated in the Republican debate in South Carolina. He speaks about energy independence and the price of oil.
TEA Party Debate
In September of 2011, Mr Cain participated in the TEA Party debate and was asked health care. He talks about pulling back some of the regulations put in place.
QUESTION: The United States has an abundance of coal, oil, natural gas and uranium. The American people have been told for decades that energy independence is a top priority. What will you do in your first 100 days in office to assure the American people that energy independence will finally become reality.
BLITZER: Mr. Cain?
CAIN: The first thing that I would do in order to assure that we get on the road to energy independence, and I do believe that we can because we do have the natural resources to do so, we've got to remove some of those barriers out of the way that are being created by the federal government. I would start with an EPA that's gone wild. That's where we start.
I would put together a regulatory reduction commission for every agency starting with the EPA. This regulatory reduction commission -- one of my guiding principles is if you want to solve a problem go to the source closest to the problem. So the people that I would appoint to that commission will be people who have been abused by the EPA. That would be the commission that would straighten out the regulatory burden.
Fox News / Google Debate
On September 22, 2011 Herman Cain participated in the Fox News / Google debate. He states that if he had to eliminate one department, it would be the EPA as it is out of control.
KELLY: Thank you, Governor.
Mr. Cain, this question was one of the top 10 video questions voted on by people online, and it comes to us from Lee Doren of Arlington, Virginia, via YouTube.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: My question is, if you were forced to eliminate one department from the federal government, which one would you eliminate and why? Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
HERMAN CAIN, BUSINESSMAN: The first -- the first department, if I were forced to eliminate a department, I would start with the EPA and start all over.
It's out of control.
(APPLAUSE)
Now, I know that makes some people nervous, but the EPA has gone wild. The fact that they have a regulation that goes into effect January 1, 2012, to regulate dust says that they've gone too far.
(LAUGHTER)
So rather than try to fix it, eliminate all of the things that they have right now and then start rebuilding a responsible EPA.
2012 Presidential Campaign Website Statements
Chapter Four: Release Our Domestic Energy Resources
America is a land blessed with abundant natural resources and the capability of the people to obtain them. From the oil-rich states of Louisiana and Alaska to the mighty dams along rivers across the states, the options for many forms of energy are real and plentiful. Still, liberals continue to perpetuate the misunderstanding that the high energy consumption of a thriving nation and conservation of our precious planet are at odds with one another.
Because they have perpetuated such a myth, liberals have forced excessive environmental regulations which have stifiled our domestic energy production, and instead, forced American consumers to rely far too heavily upon foreign oil. In many cases, this oil comes from Middle Eastern countries some of whom are not friendly to the U.S., who end up dictating the prices of our energy consumption. In return, Americans have seen no improvements in our environment or in the cleanliness of our air. We must expand our domestic energy resources by loosening government’s grip responsibly. Subsidies on agricultural products, like ethanol-producing corn, have become a mechanism for the government to pick and choose industries it favors, while doing little to enhance our ability to harness real alternative energy resources. Instead, we must allow all forms of energy the ability to develop in a free market system.
Alternative energy sources, such as wind, solar, nuclear and hydroelectric are certainly part of the solution long term, but private industry must take the lead for true innovation to be a bigger part of our future energy needs. If alternative energy sources are found to be inexpensive, safe and plentiful, American consumers will choose to purchase them. Let the markets decide which forms of energy fuel our cars, heat our homes and which ones will keep America working. America can develop a path to energy independence…and we will. We have the resources but we need the leadership.