U.S. Senator Edward Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Commerce, Environment, and Foreign Relations Committees and Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), a senior member of the U.S. Senate Energy Committee and co-chair of the bipartisan Senate Manufacturing Caucus, along with an additional 20 Senators, today urged President Obama to consider the impacts on American manufacturing and families that rely on natural gas for heat when looking to approve new natural gas export facilities.
In a letter to the president, Sens. Markey, Stabenow and their colleagues pointed out that families saw skyrocketing energy bills this winter in some parts of the country faced with short supplies of natural gas and propane, shortages that could be exacerbated with increased exports. They also pointed to the hundreds of thousands of American manufacturing jobs created in the last few years, in part because of low natural gas prices. Aggressive, unlimited new exports of natural gas could raise prices for families and American manufacturers.
The letter reads in part: “Families and businesses depend on affordable and reliable supplies of natural gas. This winter many parts of the country faced tight supplies of propane and natural gas and families were left to face high energy bills…. Taking a longer-term view, the United States has benefited from rising supplies and lower prices for natural gas since 2008. Thanks in part to lower natural gas prices, America’s manufacturing sector has created more than 600,000 jobs since 2010. The Boston Consulting Group concluded that affordable natural gas prices could lead to 5 million more manufacturing jobs by the end of the decade. We must ensure that we do not squander what is clearly an American competitive advantage right now for American manufacturers and for the American economy.”
The letter is signed by Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Susan Collins (R-ME), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Al Franken (D-MN), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Angus King (I-ME), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Carl Levin (D-MI), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Edward Markey (D-MA), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
The full text of the letter follows, and link can be found HERE:
Leading 22 Sens w @SenStabenow urging @WhiteHouse to consider impact of #natgas exports on US manufacturing,families http://t.co/OM3NwHOjSP
— Ed Markey (@MarkeyMemo) May 9, 2014
In a letter to the president, Sens. Markey, Stabenow and their colleagues pointed out that families saw skyrocketing energy bills this winter in some parts of the country faced with short supplies of natural gas and propane, shortages that could be exacerbated with increased exports. They also pointed to the hundreds of thousands of American manufacturing jobs created in the last few years, in part because of low natural gas prices. Aggressive, unlimited new exports of natural gas could raise prices for families and American manufacturers.
The letter reads in part: “Families and businesses depend on affordable and reliable supplies of natural gas. This winter many parts of the country faced tight supplies of propane and natural gas and families were left to face high energy bills…. Taking a longer-term view, the United States has benefited from rising supplies and lower prices for natural gas since 2008. Thanks in part to lower natural gas prices, America’s manufacturing sector has created more than 600,000 jobs since 2010. The Boston Consulting Group concluded that affordable natural gas prices could lead to 5 million more manufacturing jobs by the end of the decade. We must ensure that we do not squander what is clearly an American competitive advantage right now for American manufacturers and for the American economy.”
The letter is signed by Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Susan Collins (R-ME), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Al Franken (D-MN), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Angus King (I-ME), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Carl Levin (D-MI), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Edward Markey (D-MA), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
The full text of the letter follows, and link can be found HERE:
