Stephen Henderson of the Detroit Free Press wrote a hard-hitting editorial last week about our country’s lack of a comprehensive energy plan, and he laid the blame squarely on the shoulders of our elected officials in Washington:
“But when’s the last time you heard President Barack Obama talk seriously about enacting a coherent national energy policy? Or House Speaker John Boehner? Or Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid?”
By comparison, however, Henderson found that private sector leaders such as ConocoPhillips CEO James Mulva, General Motors CEO Dan Akerson, and T. Boone Pickens all believe it essential that Congress put aside partisan bickering and develop an effective energy plan.
ConocoPhillips CEO James Mulva said that his business, split between oil and natural gas, needs clearer direction from Congress about how America will meet future energy needs.
General Motors CEO Dan Akerson told me that the auto industry needs an energy plan to help it set priorities for developing new technology.
And T. Boone Pickens, the legendary gas and oil executive who has been pushing for development of all kinds of alternative energy sources, says America needs an energy policy that will stop imports from OPEC nations.
One point that really struck Henderson was that neither Mulva nor Akerson nor Pickens required prompting to bring up the issue of America’s need for an energy plan. In each case, these three business leaders brought up America’s lack of an energy plan on his own.
Henderson’s conclusion: “We need both parties to think more broadly.” With that in mind, he singled out the broad support on both sides of the aisle for the NAT GAS Act:
The bill, HR 1380, has 183 cosponsors, including Michigan Republicans Thaddeus McCotter and Mike Rogers, and Democrat Gary Peters.
But it has been stuck in committee since April, and Boehner has not committed to working to get it passed.
More of the same in Washington, where lately, it seems, big ideas go to die.
Read Henderson’s complete editorial HERE.