House GOP to unveil energy policy agenda

Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee will unveil an energy policy outline Monday they say will better align policies with the current energy market.

The plan will include provisions to modernize energy infrastructure like pipelines and transmission lines and to better prepare the workforce for modern energy jobs, Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), the committee’s chairman, said in a statement.

{mosads}“We have gone from bust to boom in energy, but now Jimmy Carter-era policies threaten our ability to reap the benefits,” Upton said.

The plan will follow last year’s “Architecture of Abundance” agenda for the committee, which focused on issues like energy security and affordability.

“That conversation continues this new Congress as we are finalizing a framework to modernize infrastructure, prepare our workforce, take advantage of our energy as a force for good in the world, and boost efficiency and accountability,” Upton said.

Last year’s “abundance” plan focused on five areas: modernizing infrastructure, diverse electricity generation, permitting for manufacturing facilities, efficiency and energy diplomacy.

That was informed chiefly by the oil and gas boom of recent years, which Upton said should push policymakers to change policies that were focused on energy scarcity.