Duncan Unveils EXPAND Act

WASHINGTON, DC—On Thursday, South Carolina Congressman Jeff Duncan reintroduced The Energy Exploration and Production to Achieve National Demand (EXPAND) Act. Duncan’s legislation (HR 3895) is an all-of-the-above energy plan that creates a market based energy strategy for the United States.

“First and foremost this is a jobs bill,” said Duncan. “Domestic energy production creates jobs, lessens our dependence on Middle Eastern sources of oil, and helps families and industries through lower fuel costs. We’ve been blessed as a country to have an abundance of natural resources and we should put Americans to work utilizing those resources in a safe and responsible way. By moving to a market-based approach for energy, the government stops picking winners and losers in the energy sector, and allows for more innovation and competition. One of the main goals of EXPAND is to eliminate excessive regulations and allow wind, solar, oil, natural gas, nuclear, biofuels, hydro, and other sources of energy to fairly compete and thrive in the open market. For example, we make common sense changes to federal regulations concerning birds that can cause operating things like wind turbines to be cost prohibitive. With oil and natural gas development on federal lands this legislation consolidates permitting authority to a single federal agency to eliminate duplication and unnecessary red tape.”

“The EXPAND Act cuts through petty Washington politics by opening Yucca Mountain for nuclear storage, increasing state authority of energy development on federal lands, and allowing energy production and exploration in ANWR and the Atlantic. The legislation even delves into the tax code by eliminating energy specific tax-breaks and replacing them with immediate expensing and lower overall rates to create a more fair environment for all sources of energy.”

“EXPAND isn’t a silver bullet, but it is an important step in the right direction for creating jobs and a more energy secure country. There can be no national security without energy security, and there is no doubt that this legislation would make our country more self-sufficient and help to bring about an energy renaissance here at home.”

“I’m excited to introduce legislation that puts forth both new ideas, and wonderful forward thinking proposals from my colleagues and combines them into a single, overall energy plan for the nation.”

Original co-sponsors of the EXPAND Act include: Phil Roe (TN-01), Lynn Westmoreland (GA-03), Joe Wilson (SC-02), Trey Radel (FL-19), Mick Mulvaney (SC-05), Roger Williams (TX-25), Phil Gingrey (GA-11), Diane Black (TN-06), Tom McClintock (CA-04), Trey Gowdy (SC-04), Randy Weber (TX-14), Ted Poe (TX-02), Jack Kingston (GA-01), Paul Broun (GA-10), Tom Graves (GA-14), Louie Gohmert (TX-01), Todd Rokita (IN-04), & Marlin Stutzman (IN-03).