OZINGA UNVEILS ENERGY PLAN

MOKENA, IL – In conjunction with his 4-hour shift pumping gas for motorists at a Mokena gas station Wednesday, 11th Congressional District GOP candidate Marty Ozinga unveiled his plan to help Illinoisans struggling with high energy costs. It should be noted that Debbie Halvorson, who has been in the race since October, has remained silent on her plan – if she indeed has one – to reduce prices and move the country toward energy independence.

 

“Our outrageous energy costs are a case study in what happens when career politicians lose touch with the problems of the people who put them in office,” Ozinga said. “Our current crisis didn’t come overnight, but the warning signs were there, and Congress let us down. They’ve pursued the wrong policy on energy for far too long, by relying on others first, and ourselves second. That’s unwise and frankly un-American.

 

“When I’m elected, I plan to pursue policies that will increase the supply of energy produced at home. My plan will help make energy cheaper, greener, and most importantly, ours.”

 

 

Ozinga said the first priority must be using the resources our nation already has. He noted the amount of oil and natural gas that could be recovered from the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) would be a good start toward increasing domestic supply.

 

“One million barrels a day for 30 years could be coming from Alaska, if Congress would act,” Ozinga said, blaming inaction on now-moot environmental concerns. “New technology makes it possible to prospect for oil without damaging the landscape,” Ozinga continued. “It is possible to recover the oil from a tiny part of ANWR while maintaining the natural beauty of the area.”

 

Ozinga noted experts believe oil is located in only 2,000 of ANWR’s 20,000,000 acres. The area to be explored is roughly equivalent to the size of a standard 3x5 index card on an NBA basketball court.

 

Ozinga pushed for environmentally-conscious drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf, Gulf of Mexico, and other U.S.-controlled areas as well. 

 

Yet he acknowledged that increasing the amount of oil in the pipeline will mean nothing if the country maintains its current refining capacity. The U.S. has not built a new refinery in more than 30 years, while demand since the 1970s has, as an understatement, skyrocketed. Further, most refineries are not yet capable of inexpensively processing “sour” crude in an environmentally-friendly manner. “Sweet” crude is currently the predominant form of oil, but supplies are running low, while “sour” crude is found in abundance – but we will need to invest in new refining technology before its use in gasoline can become widespread and thus increase supply and reduce costs.

 

“The inability to bring a product to market hurts the consumer,” Ozinga said. “We have a bottleneck in getting gasoline to the pumps because there just aren’t enough refineries to keep up. We need to incentivize expansion and building of new refineries.”

 

Ozinga also questioned the need for the federally-required 15 different types of “boutique” fuel blends, especially in Illinois, a state which has already taken steps to burn cleaner fuel.

 

“Any time a refinery has to make a new blend, it has to shut down, recalibrate, and start again. That disruption prevents fuel from getting to the market,” Ozinga commented. “I support the effort to supply high-traffic areas with cleaner-burning fuel, but I think we need to seriously examine whether 15 types of fuel is justifiable.

 

“In Illinois, gas stations are mandated to have ethanol-blended fuel at the pump,” he continued. “Ethanol is cleaner burning anyway, so the need for these boutique fuels in our state is especially suspect.”

 

Ozinga said he will push for other initiatives to lower the cost of fuel, including suspending purchases of oil for the National Reserve and the elimination of the state sales tax on gasoline – an area of stark contrast with Ozinga’s Democratic opponent.

 

“My opponent refuses to support a break at the pump in the form of eliminating Illinois’ sales tax on gasoline,” Ozinga said. “Illinois is only one of nine states that double-taxes gas by imposing both a motor fuels tax and a sales tax on top of it. Eliminating the latter – which isn’t even earmarked for roads and rises proportionally with the price of gasoline (unlike the static per-gallon motor fuels tax) – would save consumers roughly 25 cents per gallon with gas at $4 per gallon.”

 

 

Ozinga said the second energy priority must be making our energy supply more environmentally-friendly, from alternative fuels for vehicles to wind, solar, and biomass energy for our homes and businesses. 

 

“A lot of Republicans bristle at the mention of green energy; but I happen to think it’s ‘conservative’ to care about the environment and the quality of the planet we leave to our children and grandchildren,” Ozinga said.

 

“I want to promote new ways of making ethanol that don’t involve food stock, and encourage environmentally-friendly behavior - for example, we should expand tax credits for the purchase of flex-fuel or hybrid cars.

 

“There are a variety of weapons at our disposal to accomplish this,” Ozinga said. “We should incentivize research and development of clean-burning energy, some of which can be done in our own back yard at Argonne National Laboratories. We should reward consumers for making energy-efficient decisions, from upgrades to the homes, to purchasing of certain automobiles, to investing in green energy businesses.”

 

Ozinga noted the commitment his own company, Ozinga Bros., is making to biofuels. The company is beginning the transition to biodiesel to operate its fleet of concrete trucks, and already produces an energy-saving brand of concrete mix.

 

“As corporate citizens, we have a responsibility to be a good neighbor not only to those around us, but also to those who come after us,” Ozinga said. “I believe these are the kinds of actions the federal government should make attractive to businesses.”

 

Not only are the environmental benefits of biofuels well-documented, Ozinga said, but they represent a source produced in the Midwest, not the Middle East.

 

Ozinga said even a good energy plan will not produce results overnight. He said he’s driven to achieve results because, like everyone else, he feels the pinch of high energy costs, too.

 

“I know what people are going through when it comes to paying for fuel,” Ozinga said. “Our business uses 4 million gallons of diesel fuel each year. If the price of fuel goes up just 50 cents, that’s $2 million that we have to eat. And of course, it has gone up by much more than just 50 cents.

 

“We didn’t get into this mess in one day or even one year, and we shouldn’t kid ourselves that it won’t take at least that long to undo the failed policies of the career politicians,” Ozinga continued. “My candidacy is based on the principle that America is the best country on earth, but we need serious action to keep it so. 

 

“Energy is no different. If Congress will not act now with gas prices at $4 a gallon, when will it act?” Ozinga asked. “It is past time to send people to Washington who will enact serious energy policies that make a difference, not play games and grandstand for political power.”