Rep. Lamborn’s long-term-vision oil-shale future

Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-CO5, today delivered his version of the general GOP response to the Clean Energy Act. The party-wide “cap-and-tax” criticism of the bill is based on data produced by the conservative Heritage Foundation, tailored for delivery to home districts across the country. Lamborn says the bill “will inflict widespread economic damage when we can least afford it.” The phrasing almost leads you to believe Rep Lamborn would support the new-energy economy of the future if it just weren’t for the recession– if it weren’t for the recession, that is, and the tantalizing allure of a Colorado oil shale boom!

Lamborn loves the oil shale. He brought a piece with him to D.C. and held it up on the floor of the House last month. “Oil shale!” “Look, here’s a piece!” Click on the photo to watch Lamborn deliver his oil shale pitch.

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Oil shale, though, is no substitute for developing renewable energy industries and markets.

What’s more, the Heritage Foundation data being quoted in the fight against the cap and trade bill is matched by data produced elsewhere, by the Political Economy Research Institute and the Center for American Progress, for example, which reports Colorado could see a net increase of about $2.6 billion in investment revenue and 28,000 jobs as a result of the cap and trade policy. Spending on energy efficiency and renewable energy would create four times as many jobs as investing in oil, PERI reports.

The email Lamborn sent around today includes a survey, because this issue is all about credibility and he really wants to know what his supporter-constituents think.

“What will help businesses grow and create more jobs?” he asks. “Higher taxes” or “Lower taxes”?

It’s not a leading question. Really, it’s not. He wants to know.

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