Plummer Touts Energy Policy on District-Wide Tour

Press Release

On a district-wide swing to energy-production sites in southern Illinois, 12th Congressional District candidate Jason Plummer touted the resources that Illinois is blessed with and how they can bring jobs back to the state.

"It is truly shameful to see such high unemployment throughout southern Illinois with all of the natural resources the state is blessed with," Plummer said. "As a congressman, I will help throw out burdensome regulations that keep our energy resources untapped."

Energy production facilities are located throughout the 12th Congressional District, from Wood River all the way to Alexander County, and these job-sustaining energy sources are being threatened by President Obama and his liberal allies in Congress, Plummer said.

"The state of Illinois has more BTUs of proven coal reserves than Saudi Arabia has in oil," Plummer said. "Instead of embracing the wealth of energy resources Illinois has, bureaucrats from the Environmental Protection Agency and Washington, D.C., have attacked our energy supply with regulations and decimated the workforce in the 12th Congressional District. These harmful policies have kept the U.S economy addicted to foreign oil."

President Obama's recent decision to turn down the Keystone XL pipeline will adversely affect the district, as the ConocoPhillips Refinery would receive the oil sands from Canada and increase the Wood River and other U.S.'s facility's ability to create jobs and reduce the county's dependence on foreign oil.

"The President's recent decision on Keystone just shows out of touch he is with the folks in the 12th District," Plummer said. "Passing Keystone and drilling in southern Illinois would not only help create jobs, but help Americans with the skyrocketing gasoline prices."

While Plummer would help southern Illinoisians get access to their own natural resources, he supports an all-of-the-above approach when it comes to energy policy.

"I want to go to Washington to bring sensible ideas on energy, which includes oil, natural gas, renewables and even electric where feasible, but this includes rural trucks used on farms and construction sites," Plummer added. "Using renewable resources along with the gas, oil and coal we have would greatly diminish the rising energy costs."

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