Roe Pushes Energy Policy: States Domestic Production Will Benefit Economy

U.S. Representative Phil Roe. (The Herald/Archive Photo)

As Sevier County’s largest industry, tourism is heavily dependent on the cost of fuel, and U.S. Representative Phil Roe is supporting a national push to increase domestic energy production in hopes of boosting the economy.

“If the percentage of those looking for work were as high today as at the beginning of the recession, unemployment would be a staggering 11.5 percent,” Roe said. “These troubling numbers are a direct result of the President’s failed economic policies and the Democrat-led Senate’s refusal to vote on House-passed, job-creating legislation.”

Currently there are 32 bills aimed at creating jobs that Republicans have passed in House, but have been stalled in the Senate. Some of those bills are Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act, Energy Tax Prevention Act, and Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act.

Coinciding with the premise of these job bills, Roe argued the economy would greatly benefit if certain restrictions were lifted and U.S. businesses became freer to pursue an accelerated level of domestic energy production.