FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 19, 2012
CONTACT: Evan Kozlow

Tempe – Travis Grantham, candidate for Congress in Arizona’s new 9th Congressional District released the following statement today following President Obama’s decision to reject the Keystone XL Pipeline:

“It is inexcusable that President Obama has chosen partisan politics over the people of the United States by rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline project. President Obama and his entire administration have shown that special interests far outweigh the needs of the American people in regards to job creation, national security, and reducing our dependency on foreign oil.

The Keystone XL pipeline would have created approximately 20,000 new jobs for American workers throughout the country and into the Gulf of Mexico while bolstering our national security and our economy. I’ve witnessed firsthand the sacrifice that our troops are making on a daily basis defending our foreign sources of oil due to our lack of domestic production. With the rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline, President Obama has further solidified our dependence on foreign sources of oil and has dealt a major blow to the United States of America’s domestic energy production.

The United States is facing an unprecedented economic crisis in addition to an energy crisis that can no longer be ignored or pushed off to the next generation. President Obama has put his special interests well ahead of America’s on this day. The American people deserve far better leadership out of Washington than what is being exhibited now by both our Congress and our President.”

Travis Grantham is a candidate for Arizona’s Ninth Congressional District. He serves as the Chief Operations Officer at International Air Response based at the Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport. He is also a Captain and Pilot in the Arizona Air National Guard’s 161st Air Refueling Wing based out of Sky Harbor International Airport. Travis and his wife Patricia have two daughters.

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It’s not every day that the New York Times makes a compelling case against government giveaways. But a recent page-one article underscored that the Solyndra scandal was only the tip of the solar-subsidy iceberg. Huge companies like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, General Electric, utilities including Exelon and NRG, and even Google are receiving government guarantees that ensure large profits with virtually no risk — except to the taxpayer.

The Times ascribes to the Obama administration a “gold-rush mentality” when Congress expanded green-power incentives in 2009, despite a paralyzing federal deficit. The chief executive of NRG, which received $5.2 billion in federal loan guarantees plus hundreds of millions in other subsidies for solar projects, gushed that “I have never seen anything . . . in my 20 years in the power industry that involved less risk than these projects.”

A start-up industry with no capital risk to investors? It’s a nifty deal if you can get it—and many have. “It is like building a hotel, where you know in advance you are going to have 100 percent room occupancy for 25 years,” the Times quotes the CEO of SolarReserve. Even some of President Obama’s top advisors have warned of industry “double-dipping.”

Solar may be the most-subsidized industry in American history. Not only are producers subsidized at the federal, state, and sometimes even local levels, but consumers are subsidized to purchase solar panels, utility companies are forced to use and further subsidize solar power, and higher utility rates are passed along to Americans amidst deep recession.

Arizona is immersed in solar subsidies, providing tax breaks and (through the Corporation Commission) mandating that 15 percent of all utility energy be provided through specified renewable sources. Cost and technological feasibility are no object, and every dollar in added costs is passed along to consumers through a utility surcharge.

If the New York Times gets it, shouldn’t sensible, self-styled conservative elected officials? It’s time for government to stop playing Santa Claus to this pampered industry.

Clint Bolick is director of the Goldwater Institute’s Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation.

Learn more:

New York Times: A Gold Rush of Subsidies in Clean Energy Search

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 9, 2012

PHOENIX, AZ –U.S. Congressman Paul Gosar, DDS (AZ-01) released the following statement today following the announcement of the Obama Administration’s decision to withdraw approximately 1 million acres of federal land in northern Arizona from uranium mining:

“Today’s actions show that the administration continues to count on the distortion of truths and the outright denial of facts, to push their big government agenda. President Obama and Secretary Salazar are showing a clear indifference to the separation of powers and instead of leading our nation are being more divisive than ever. 

As the representative of a large portion of the Grand Canyon National Park, the preservation of this natural treasure is very important to me. I would not want any activity to be done that would threaten that vital aspect of our economy or the aesthetic beauty of the canyon that’s why the original buffer was put into place. 

In is important we realize that the rhetoric surrounding this issue focuses on facts, not scare tactics. The Administration’s land withdrawal is unnecessary to protect the Grand Canyon. The park currently has a land buffer. No uranium mine can exist within the park’s boundaries, or the park buffer. It is simply false and misleading to assert that if the land in the strip is not withdrawn, uranium mining will take place “in” the canyon or “in the park.”

I strongly believe cautious development with strong oversight under federal statue strikes the careful balance between economic activity and environmental protection and thus oppose the proposed arbitrary withdrawal.” 

In the 1980’s, former Arizona Congressman Morris Udall, now-Senator John McCain, and other Congressional leaders negotiated a compromise with the uranium mining industry, native Americans, environmentalists, livestock and other stakeholder groups which formed the basis for designating Arizona’s first wilderness areas as buffer zones around the Grand Canyon National Park. The withdrawal area being considered by the Department of Interior was specifically identified for uranium mining and was opened up for economic activity as part of that negotiated agreement.

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by Stephen Slivinski
Goldwater Institute

The story goes like this: Policymakers identify what they believe to be untapped potential in the energy marketplace. They subsidize it in the hopes that the start-up boost can catapult it to a vibrant form of alternative energy.

This is the general approach that federal and state policymakers are taking to the prospect of a booming future for solar energy. Subsidizing the industry now, they say, will have payoffs in the future even if the industry faces some rocky times in the short-term.

But it’s an old storyline. In fact, it’s almost identical to past failed attempts by the federal government to play venture capitalist in the energy industry. A recent Washington Post article recounted the recent, but perhaps forgotten, history of government’s attempts to help create new sources of power.

Take the Synthetic Fuels Corporation, the brainchild of President Carter’s administration. It was a type of investment fund, capitalized in part with $17 billion in taxpayer money, to start up projects that would turn coal and shale into oil and gas. By the early 1980s, oil prices had fallen and the projects that the fund financed were no longer viable.

Then more recently there were the efforts to jump-start the hydrogen fuel-cell automobile and the quest to find a clearer-burning coal. Both petered out due mainly to each project’s economic infeasibility but only after billions of taxpayer dollars were spent.

Today, the main subsidies for the solar industry are regulatory (through renewable energy mandates on traditional energy providers), tax credits for purchases of solar panels, and property tax abatements for manufacturers and producers of solar energy and its related products. Yet it’s not clear that policymaker preference for solar will prove any more accurate than prior flirtations with new forms of energy.

Solar may one day provide a robust alternative to fossil fuels. But it’s probably going to require a set of market conditions that may not exist for quite some time. In the meantime, if enough venture capital investors think it’s a worthwhile gamble, let’s make sure government doesn’t get in their way. But putting taxpayer money on the line, that’s another story.

Stephen Slivinski is senior economist for the Goldwater Institute.

Learn More:

Washington Post: Before Solyndra, a long history of failed government energy projects

Marginal Revolution: What is the future of solar power?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 18, 2011
CONTACT: Richard Cullen

Media Advisory: Rep. Quayle Participates in Town Hall Discussion Focused on Energy Issues

WHAT: Congressman Ben Quayle (R-AZ), a member of the House Energy Action Team (HEAT), participates in a town hall discussion hosted by the Arizona Energy Forum
WHEN: Wednesday, October 19 at 6:30 p.m. (Doors open at 6:00 p.m.)
WHERE: Camelback High School
ADDRESS: 4612 North 28th Street, Phoenix, AZ 85016
PARTICIPANTS: Congressman Ben Quayle (R-AZ), Rep. Kate Brophy McGee (LD11 Energy Committee), Troy Hyde, Chair of the Arizona Energy Forum

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 12, 2011
CONTACT: Brian Rogers (McCain), Kate Middleton (Franks), Apryl Marie Fogel (Gosar), Genevieve Frye Rozansky (Flake), Rachel Semmel (Schweikert), Richard Cullen (Quayle)

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators John McCain (R-AZ), Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Mike Lee (R-UT) and U.S. Congressmen Trent Franks (AZ-02), Rob Bishop (UT-01), Jeff Flake (AZ-06), Paul Gosar (AZ-01), David Schweikert (AZ-05) and Ben Quayle (AZ-03) today introduced the Northern Arizona Mining Continuity Act of 2011. This legislation will stop the U.S. Department of the Interior from banning mining in a vast area of Arizona, and killing jobs in the uranium mining industry.

Click here to view the embedded video.

In a recent letter to Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, several members of Congress wrote in protest of the Secretary’s proposed a one million acre withdrawal of mining rights. The members stated the withdrawal has nothing to do with protecting the Grand Canyon environment but is actually ‘de facto wilderness’ for a region that conservationists previously agreed would remain accessible to the mining industry. The Interior Department’s own environmental study on the proposed withdrawal found ‘no conclusive evidence’ that modern-day mining operations in this area are harming the Grand Canyon watershed.

The Northern Arizona Mining Continuity Act of 2011 would uphold the historic agreement embodied by the Arizona Wilderness Act of 1984 (AWA) that designated parts of the Arizona Strip as Wilderness and restored other lands to reasonable and safe uranium mining uses. The letter points out that the AWA “expressly refrained from banning mining on the Arizona Strip.”

“The Department’s proposed mining withdrawal would kill hundreds of potential jobs to ‘save’ the Grand Canyon from the same form of uranium mining that conservation groups once supported,” said Senator McCain. “It also threatens to unravel the spirit of the Arizona Wilderness Act and will raise significant questions for future Wilderness bills if agreements to accommodate responsible land uses are neither genuine nor enduring.”

“Despite the fact that uranium mining efforts have for decades operated without impacting the environment or the beauty of our national parks, President Obama is nonetheless seeking to make 326-375 million pounds of the best quality uranium in the entire country off-limits, thus putting the desires of a handful of rabid environmentalists above America’s long-term energy independence and national security,” said Congressman Franks.

“The Obama Administration continues to push policies that stifle American energy exploration and job creation,” Senator Hatch said. “Through Utah and the West, there’s an abundance of energy that would help fuel the economic recovery we so desperately need. This legislation ensures that these vital public lands are accessible to domestic energy producers so we can harness the nation’s second largest domestic source of uranium ore.”

“This Department of Interior’s decision to halt mining in this region is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to circumvent congress in order to create new de-facto wilderness areas. Blocking access to more than a third of the known U.S. uranium deposits would have a devastating impact on job creation and would increase our reliance on foreign sources of uranium. As it stands, we already depend on other countries for more than 90% of our uranium needs,” said Congressman Rob Bishop. “This legislation will block yet another federal land grab and help ensure that we have access to our abundant domestic energy resources, which are essential to the future of this country.”

“After having his ‘wild lands’ policy resoundingly rejected by Utahns and other state and local officials, Secretary Salazar appears intent upon using whatever authority he can claim to lock up lands in the western states,” said Senator Lee. “The withdrawal of one million acres of mining rights also reneges on a compromise between the federal government and the mining industry negotiated in good faith almost thirty years ago, setting an unwelcome precedent that could have future negative consequences. This legislation will stand as yet another rebuke of the administration’s relentless pursuit of federal land grabs and reinforce the message that the people, not federal bureaucrats, should be the final authority on what happens to land within their state’s borders.”

“Uranium mining in northern Arizona can create jobs and stimulate the region’s economy without jeopardizing the splendor and natural beauty of the area, and that’s why Arizona’s federal, state, and local officials oppose a moratorium on such mining,” said Congressman Flake.

“It is important we focus on the facts surrounding mining in the Northern Arizona Mining district,” said Congressman Gosar. “It is simply false and misleading to assert that if the Administration’s withdrawal is not enacted, uranium mining will take place ‘in’ the canyon or ‘in’ the park. However without a doubt, if the Administration’s proposed withdrawal is enacted, the potential for nearly $30 billion dollars of economic growth opportunities – nearly $700 million annually and over a thousand well paying jobs – will be eliminated. I am proud to cosponsor this important legislation, and I strongly support environmentally responsible development of our country’s vast energy and mineral resources that will expand our domestic energy supply, create new American jobs, and lessen our dependence on foreign sources of energy and minerals.”

“At a time when we are desperate for jobs and economic growth, this Administration continues to do everything in its power to implement the job-killing policies of fringe environmental groups. This withdrawal is not so much a protection of the Grand Canyon, but a government land grab of economically fertile mining land,” said Congressman Schweikert.

“It is remarkable that we need legislation to force the Administration to stop such an unwarranted ban,” said Congressman Quayle. “A study conducted by the same department that is proposing the mining withdrawal found ‘no conclusive evidence’ that modern-day mining will cause any harm to the Grand Canyon region. Despite these findings, the Department of Interior is still pushing forward even though the ban will prevent the creation of thousands of potential Arizona jobs and economic growth for the state. The Administration is once again putting special interests ahead of job creation.”

Letter and bill attached.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 12, 2011
CONTACT: Genevieve Frye Rozansky

Franks/Flake Northern Arizona Mining Continuity Act of 2011 Will Stop Withdrawal of Lands to New Mining Claims

Washington, D.C. – Republican Congressman Jeff Flake, who represents Arizona’s Sixth District, today with Congressman Trent Franks (AZ-02) introduced in the House the Northern Arizona Mining Continuity Act of 2011, which will prohibit the U.S. Department of the Interior from implementing a 20-year withdrawal of nearly one million acres of public lands in northern Arizona north and south of the Grand Canyon to new uranium mining claims. This legislation would also uphold the agreement reached by the Arizona Wilderness Act of 1984 (AWA) that would not ban mining on some of the public lands in the proposed withdrawal. Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ) introduced the legislation in the Senate.

In a recent letter (attached) to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Congressman Flake and others urged the Department to reconsider its proposed withdrawal. The potential moratorium on new mining claims would hinder job growth in the area and potentially require a re-write of long-held agreements reached between the environmental lobby, government, and other parties regarding the protection and management of public lands. The letter to Secretary Salazar states that the Interior Department’s internal environmental study on the proposed withdrawal found “no conclusive evidence” that modern-day mining operations in this area are harming the Grand Canyon watershed.

“Uranium mining in northern Arizona can create jobs without tarnishing the splendor of the Grand Canyon, which is why many of Arizona’s federal, state, and local officials oppose this lands withdrawal,” said Flake. “Banning new uranium mining claims in northern Arizona will overturn respected public lands management agreements and will certainly stymie job growth in Arizona.”

In July, Congressman Flake successfully included language in the House Interior Appropriations bill (H.R. 2584) to prevent the proposed withdrawal of public lands to new uranium mining claims. The bill has not yet reached the House Floor for a vote.

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The candidates are Bob Stump (incumbent), Bob Burns (former State Senate President), and Susan Bitter-Smith.

The ACC is one of the lowest profile government organizations that has a huge impact on the lives and financial well being of Arizonans. It regulates utility rates and service levels for privately owned utilities. This impacts the quality and price of our electric, natural gas, telecommunications, and water services.

There will be plenty of time for questions and answers, so this is your chance to really find out where these candidates stand on economic regulation issues that will have a direct impact on you and your familiy.

Location: Appaloosa Public Library
7377 E. Silverstone Drive, Scottsdale, AZ 85255
(Near intersection of N Scottsdale and E Pinnacle Peak)

Date: Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2011. (2nd Wed of Month)
Time: 6:45-7:00 pm meet & greet. Meeting from 7-8:15pm

Contact Information:
Howard Levine,
NE Valley Chapter Chairman
Howard_Levine@rocketmail.com , http://www.pachydermcoalition.com/
480-577-4168

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 23, 2011
CONTACT: Richard Cullen

WASHINTON (D.C.) Congressman Ben Quayle (R-AZ), a member of the House Energy Action Team (HEAT), released the following statement Thursday after the Obama Administration announced plans to release 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR):

“President Obama’s decision to release 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is short-sighted and patently political. Rather than considering Republican efforts to take advantage of our abundant sources of American oil and natural gas, the Administration has chosen the politically convenient route of opening reserves, a move that should only be taken during national emergencies. Allowing energy exploration to continue in Alaska, the Gulf Coast region and elsewhere will not only move America closer to energy independence, but it will also create thousands of fulltime American jobs. We deserve an energy policy focused on results, not politics.”

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 22, 2011
CONTACT: Richard Cullen

WASINGTON (D.C.) Congressman Ben Quayle (R-AZ), a member of the House Energy Action Team (HEAT), released the following statement Wednesday in support of HR 2021, the Jobs and Energy Permitting Act, which would create thousands of jobs by ending permitting delays that have stalled American oil and natural gas production off the coast of Alaska:

“With millions of Americans out of work and millions more being forced to take part-time jobs, it is imperative that the Obama Administration and Members of Congress take advantage of existing vehicles to job creation and economic growth. By eliminating the needless permitting delays that have stalled American energy production off the coast of Alaska, the Jobs and Energy Permitting Act would create more than 50,000 jobs and produce up to 1 million barrels of oil a day. HR 2021 would produce American energy and create American jobs at a time when we are in desperate need of both.”

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Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 4, 2011
CONTACT: Richard Cullen

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Ben Quayle (R-AZ) is joining with House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Chief Deputy Whip Peter Roskam (R-IL), Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (R-WA) to announce the creation of the House Energy Action Team (HEAT).

HEAT will consist of a committed group of House members to promote Republican energy policies that will address rising energy prices, create thousands of good jobs and enhance our national security by promoting energy independence for America. HEAT will clearly demonstrate that House Republicans are on the side of the small businesses and families who are increasingly harmed by record high energy prices.

“Going to the gas station these days is about as much fun as a trip to an uncertified dentist. Every time I fill up my tank in Phoenix, the price for a gallon of gas is higher than the time before. With our economic recovery already anemic, the latest surge in gas prices requires fresh thinking and immediate action by leaders in Washington,” Rep. Quayle said. “HEAT will be a key resource for House Republicans as we develop common-sense energy policies aimed at creating jobs and making America more energy independent.”

“Traveling around my district during the district work period, my constituents overwhelmingly wanted to talk about the steadily increasing price of gas that is placing great strain on their families and small businesses,” Whip McCarthy said. “The restrictive policies of this Administration are bringing unnecessary pain at the pump and they are costing our nation jobs. The HEAT initiative will further highlight Republican energy proposals to expand domestic energy production. These proposals will help create American jobs, grow our economy, and enhance our security through greater energy independence.”

“My constituents in Chicagoland are vitally concerned about continually rising gas prices and the Administration’s refusal to accept commonsense energy solutions,” Chief Deputy Whip Roskam said. “With our economy still struggling, now more than ever, we need an all-of-the-above energy approach that removes barriers to job creation and relieves the burden on consumers and small businesses. HEAT will be an important tool for House Republicans to advance our commonsense energy solutions.”

“House Republicans are hard at work through the American Energy Initiative crafting the common-sense solutions we need to create a more secure energy future. Today’s high gas prices are squeezing family budgets and making it hard for our economy to bounce back. As we work to cut the red tape that is blocking energy production and finally harness our available resources with an all-of-the–above energy strategy, I’m pleased to have this team of talented members volunteer to take our message of job creation and energy security to the American people,” said Chairman Upton.

“With the price of gasoline increasing daily, and the prospect of $5 gasoline looming ahead, it is time for Congress to put an end to the Obama Administration’s anti-energy, job-destroying policies that are inflicting further economic pain,” Chairman Hastings said. “House Republicans are taking action this week to reverse these Obama Administration policies and pass legislation to expand American energy production, create new American jobs and lower energy prices. HEAT is an important initiative to promote Republican energy policies that will grow our economy and strengthen our national security by decreasing our dependence on unstable foreign energy supplies.”

The following Members will be participating in HEAT:

Reps. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Peter Roskam (R-IL), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Mike Conaway (R-TX), Steve Scalise (R-LA), Greg Walden (R-OR), Rick Berg (R-ND), Jeff Denham (R-CA), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Doc Hastings (R-WA), Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA), Lynn Jenkins (R-KS), Devin Nunes (R-CA), Alan Nunnelee (R-MS), Pete Olson (R-TX), Ben Quayle (R-AZ), Martha Roby (R-AL), Phil Roe (R-TN), Steve Womack (R-AR), Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), Bill Flores (R-TX), Virginia Foxx (R-NC), John Shimkus (R-IL), Fred Upton (R-MI), Bill Johnson (R-OH) and Mike Pompeo (R-KS).

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