Senator Domenici Focuses on Nation's Energy Policy

Domenici believes recent oil price increases will become permanent, and high oil prices have left the U.S. economy vulnerable to overseas investors.

Addressing those who champion conservation over new drilling, Senator Domenici insisted that the present situation calls for an attack on all fronts. He called for steep tax credits for renewable energy and hybrid automobiles, while at the same time exploring for oil in the ANWR region in Alaska and developing new nuclear power plants.

"Either the marketplace responds or Congress acts," he warned.

Domenici acknowledged that he was hated by some for his push to drill in the ANWR region of Alaska. But after a recent visit to the area, he is convinced that modern drilling techniques will deliver minimal harm to the environment. Equipment is delivered to drilling wells on temporary ice roads, he maintains, and wells take up no more space than a common outhouse.

According to Domenici, while renewable energy sources are viable (wind, solar and geothermal), they will never account for more than 5% of the nations’s energy needs. The Senator believes that nuclear power plants are the cheapest and most reliable source of energy. He sited France as obtaining 72% of their energy needs from nuclear power.

"The tragedy is that if we don’t succeed in this energy crisis, our standard of living will little by little diminish to the point where we can no longer make it."