In a State of the Union speech that heralded America’s recent economic turnaround, President Obama on Tuesday hailed the U.S.’s new status as the global leader in oil and gas and acknowledged the nation’s reduced dependence on foreign oil. Obama also said the typical American family could expect to save $750 on gasoline this year amid low oil prices and higher fuel economy standards.
Obama’s address, however, contained very few specifics with regard to energy policy. The president touted his administration’s efforts to curb climate change without specifically mentioning recent rulings on power plant emissions and proposed action on methane releases. Obama expressed hope that a recent agreement between the U.S. and China to jointly curb greenhouse gas emissions would lead to a broader global accord on climate change.
Obama made only a vague reference to the Keystone XL pipeline when discussing the need to upgrade infrastructure. The president said both Democrats and Republicans must set their sights “higher than a single oil pipeline.” Obama has threatened to veto a bill in Congress that would approve the project.
Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa confronted the Keystone XL issue more directly while delivering the Republican Party’s response. Ernst said Obama faces a choice between signing the bill and blocking “good American jobs.”
Meanwhile, the American Petroleum Institute (API) offered its own rebuttal, saying America’s energy renaissance has occurred in spite of the federal government’s policies. API noted the recent drop in development on federal lands and a $1 billion decline in revenues from leasing in the past year. API also said a long-term commitment to the oil and gas boom could help reduce income inequality in the U.S. Improving the economic situation of America’s middle class was a prevailing theme in Obama’s address.
