ConservAmerica Encourages Congressional Leaders to Address Critical Minerals Supply Chain
ConservAmerica President Jeff Kupfer sent a letter to congressional leaders last week stressing the need for policies that support critical minerals development in the United States.
“The data makes clear that America has a deep, persistent, and dangerous reliance on overseas production and processing. This is largely a problem of our own making – one that can be addressed by reforming our national policy framework in support of mineral and energy resource development,” Kupfer wrote in the letter. “A shift in federal policy is essential and long overdue to solving America’s deepening dependence on foreign countries, particularly China, for minerals that are essential to our energy, economic, and national security interests.”
The letter and copies of the report were sent to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in the Senate, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy in the House.
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Report: Clean Energy Transition Must Address Domestic Critical Minerals Challenges
Last year, President Joe Biden pledged that the U.S. would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent in ten years. As evidenced by the current situation in Ukraine, this policy emphasizes the urgent need to increase the development of safe, reliable, affordable, and clean energy supplies domestically. With this in mind, ConservAmerica today released a new white paper, "Strengthening America’s Mineral Security: Net Import Dependence, Supply Chain Vulnerability, and the Case for Critical Minerals." This white paper examines U.S. federal policy and critical minerals supply, proposing a series of steps the government should take to reverse one of the nation's most persistent and pervasive national security and economic challenges.
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Fox Business: Biden's Russia oil ban: Energy industry reps laud move, say it's 'befuddling' president won't back US energy
ConservAmerica President Jeff Kupfer appeared on Fox Business on March 8 to discuss Biden’s decision to ban Russian oil imports, making the case that it was the right move even if the administration was pushed into the decision but there is much more the U.S. should be doing to keep up with demand.
Former Acting Deputy Energy Secretary Jeff Kupfer, who served under former President George W. Bush, told FOX Business Tuesday that despite the fact he agrees with the ban on Russian oil, it still appears Biden was forced into the move.
"I think it was the right move. They ultimately in some way got pushed into it," Kupfer said. "I mean, they weren't necessarily supportive of it at first, but with the bipartisan pressure from the Hill, it sort of left them no choice but to do it."
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The Hill: How US policies contribute to high energy prices
Fourteen years ago, as the head of a U.S. delegation at a time of sky-high energy prices, I met with a Middle Eastern oil minister in an effort to convince his nation to increase production. I have a distinct memory of him listening to my pitch, pausing for a few seconds and then looking me straight in the eye and saying, “I hear you, but what is your country doing to help the situation?” With U.S. energy prices on the rise, and with U.S. officials scrambling to cobble together gas supplies for Europe in case of a Russian attack on Ukraine, that question is just as relevant today.
Unfortunately, the answer is, not much. However you feel about natural gas (and oil), the reality is that it is a critical component of our energy system, and that it is here to stay for many years. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that U.S. consumption of natural gas will remain roughly unchanged in 2022 and 2023.
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ConservAmerica Calls on EPA, USACE to Suspend WOTUS Rulemaking Until Court Decision
ConservAmerica sent a letter Monday to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator (EPA) Michael S. Regan and Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Michael L. Connor encouraging the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to suspend a rulemaking to redefine the scope of waters considered jurisdictional under the Clean Water Act (CWA) until the U.S. Supreme Court completes its consideration of Sackett v. EPA.
The case, which is on the docket for the Court’s next term, could have significant implications for EPA’s regulatory authorities under the CWA and the definition of “waters of the United States,” commonly referred to as WOTUS.
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Water Markets Offer a Better Way to Allocate Scarce Resources in the West
Competition for access to limited water resources has been a hallmark of life in the West for generations. Attempts to manage water through political solutions have consistently resulted in conflicts between states and various user groups, including cities big and small.
Water scarcity affects everyone and everything in the West. Wildlife habitat, agriculture, energy production, recreation, and, as witnessed the past few summers, the ability to manage wildfires all depend on access to water. Yet, political solutions to water shortages continually fall short.
The old maxim that whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting is as true today as a century ago. But an alternative to political governance is quickly gaining a foothold in the West in the form of water markets.
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As Congress Enters a New Year, Will There be Progress on Energy and Environment Policy?
Welcome to 2022, which may just look a lot like 2021. Before Congress adjourned for the holiday break, the President and Democrats hit against the rock called Joe Manchin over the Build Back Better spending package. Negotiations broke down over the price of the bill, once again proving that big spending doesn’t seem to go over easily. The Congressional Budget Office has since projected the bill would cost $4.73 trillion over ten years, increasing the deficit by $3 trillion over 2022 to 2031. A hard pill to swallow under any circumstance, particularly now, given the current economic environment. But what is in the bill, and what, if anything, should conservatives embrace?
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Opinion: Competition in electricity markets lowers bills — but most states don’t allow that
ConservAmerica President Jeff Kupfer published a commentary in MarketWatch on November 2 making the case that competition is the best way to achieve the energy future that customers want – one that fosters innovation, combats climate change, promotes reliability, and drives down prices.
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Raging wildfires across West are once again capturing national attention
Massive fires in Oregon that destroyed an area half the size of Rhode Island even threatened neighboring California. While cooler weather has helped calm the fires, the risk of a flare-up remains, and the loss of property is staggering. Numerous fires further south in California have destroyed buildings, forced evacuations, damaged watersheds, destroyed important animal habitats, and degraded the air quality for thousands of miles. Again, the risk for even more damage remains high if high temperatures and low humidity remains.
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