(Alexandria, Virginia) – President Barack Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has admitted a regulatory agenda of cracking down in an especially brutal manner on America’s energy producers, making ‘examples’ of them, and confessing the EPA’s aim was to ‘crucify’ them, an outrageous and frightening specter that spurred a statement from 60 Plus Association Chairman Jim Martin, leader of the nation’s largest conservative seniors organization:

“If anyone had any questions about the radical anti-energy agenda of this White House, the comments attacking America’s energy producers should remove all doubt.  The mentality of this President and his devotees that energy producers are the enemy is all people need to know to understand why we are all paying record prices to fill up our tanks, and new permits for energy exploration are at an all-time low.

“The EPA administrator who made this statement should be fired immediately; a failure to do so by Energy Secretary Salazar would only confirm that the President and his Administration agree with these noxious anti-energy sentiments.  This episode makes clear that the EPA has grown far too big and too powerful, and is hurting our nation by trying to regulate every area of our lives.

“Leaders in Congress and candidate Romney ought to make clear to the American public that they will not tolerate this anti-energy culture at the EPA any longer, and that going forward all nominees to the EPA will be thoroughly vetted on their views, to ensure that environmental extremists and disciples of the phony global warming agenda do not serve within its walls.  It is time to clean house.  Scale back the size and power of the EPA, and staff it with people who support American energy, so people can be free and our nation can prosper.”

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(Alexandria, Virginia) – More than 10 years have now passed since Senate Democrats blocked drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), protesting in 2002 that it would not yield oil for at least seven to ten years.  Today, Americans are paying the price for the Democrats’ anti-energy agenda, shelling out money to pay record prices at the pump, a fact that continues to drag down our economy and make every American poorer in the process.  In response, the Democrats earned a challenge today from 60 Plus Chairman Jim Martin, leader of the nation’s largest conservative seniors advocacy organization:

“All we get from the Democrat party on energy is excuses, well I hate to remind them, but it is now 10 years later.  I’ve been drawing Social Security for 10 years, but we’ve still drawn no oil!

“The President and his party continue to this day to deny America the domestic energy sources we need, from denying drilling permits at a record pace, blocking drilling in ANWR, opposing the Keystone XL pipeline and by wasting billions of tax dollars in failed green energy companies.  Because of their actions, every American family has to drill deeper into their wallet to fill up their tanks and pay the outrageous cost of the Democrats anti-energy agenda.

“If they had supported drilling in ANWR 10 years ago as the majority of the people wanted, by the Democrats own admission America would be stronger today, with more domestic energy and less reliance on foreign oil.  Instead the American-made energy that could be filling our tanks and filling our Treasury with revenue remains exactly where it was 10 years ago — deep in the ground — and every day we don’t tap our own energy resources is another day we as a nation ship billions of dollars to other countries.

“Since the Democrat party’s opposition to drilling in ANWR is based on time concerns, I issue the following challenge to the White House — approve drilling in ANWR and we will see if we get energy first from Alaska, or from algae as the President wants.  Our nation and our economy need energy to grow and for our people to prosper.  Show the people that you care about families and the struggles we face more than about appeasing the radical environmentalists who oppose American energy.”

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(Alexandria, VA) – 60 Plus Chairman Jim Martin, leader of the nation’s largest conservative seniors’ organization, issued the following statement today on Sen. Bob Menendez’s (D-NJ) introduction of Senate bill S.2204, “Repeal of Big Oil Subsidies Act of 2012.”  The bill is slated for a cloture vote this evening at 5:30 p.m. on Capitol Hill.

“Senator Menendez’s bill is a blatant and partisan attempt to single out and demonize some of our country’s most important energy producers. It’s a disingenuous ploy to attack the oil and natural gas industry at the cost of hardworking Americans, and hurts seniors on fixed incomes who are already grappling with skyrocketing gasoline prices.

“The bill mischaracterizes important incentives enjoyed by, but not unique to, the oil and natural gas industry. American energy companies do not receive any special handouts, and in fact, the U.S. tax code doesn’t include any tax credits or deductions specific to the energy sector. These so-called ‘loop holes’ are in reality important tax incentives that protect U.S. companies operating globally from getting taxed twice, both abroad and here at home. Repealing them translates into a discriminatory tax hike that will unfortunately discourage energy production and likely reduce tax revenues.

“The energy industry creates unparalleled economic opportunities for our country. Over nine million jobs are supported by the industry, and it generates as much as $86 million in tax revenue per day for the federal government. Unlike the many risky ‘green energy’ initiatives, which have experienced noted favoritism from the same politicians pushing this latest attack, the oil and natural gas industry has continued to create well-paying jobs across the country. If ever there were a time to avoid discouraging them, it is now as our country faces historic economic challenges.

“What a perverse policy the President and his political party are pursuing. Discouraging domestic energy production while encouraging foreign energy imports. This policy is already a clear and present danger to national security and must be reversed for the sake of our country.”

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(Alexandria, Virginia) – 60 Plus Chairman Jim Martin, leader of the nation’s largest conservative seniors organization, today issued a statement regarding President Obama’s press conference today when he linked high gas prices to his own re-election.  Asked to respond to critics of his energy policy, the President said:

“Do you think the President of the United States going into re-election wants gas prices to go up higher?  Is that — is there anybody here who thinks that makes a lot of sense?”

“It’s funny to note that the only person who brought up his re-election as an issue was the President himself, and that he chose to answer the question regarding his record-high gas prices in the context of how it affects him, not how high gas prices are hurting people and killing our economy. No matter the issue, it seems the President can only think of one thing; his own campaign. Sigmund Freud would have a field day analyzing this President’s answers.

“For a man who promised that his policies would make energy prices “necessarily skyrocket” and who hired an Energy Secretary who dreams of the day when Americans pay ten dollars for a gallon of gas like in Europe, this comment exposes the fact that President Obama only cares about the pain Americans feel at the pump if it relates to his own re-election.

“Mr. President, you have spent more than three years driving the cost of energy up. You have unleashed your EPA to put the thumb-screws to the coal industry, you’ve made millions of acres of land and water off limits to energy exploration, and proposed trillions in new energy taxes. The only pain you are capable of feeling is your own, the thought that the policies you championed and pushed on our nation will cost you a second term in the White House.”

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(Alexandria, Virginia) – As gas prices soar to record levels with no end in sight, President Obama remains without a comprehensive or coherent energy strategy after more than three full years in office. Despite Obama’s promise in 2008 that he would fix energy prices, “So that we’re not talking about high fuel prices next summer or the next summer after that, or the summer after that,” prices at the pump are now at a record level for this time of year, and continuing to rapidly climb.

“Candidate Obama told us he would make energy independence a priority, and put an end to the constant up and down prices at the pump. President Obama has yet to propose, let alone enact, any realistic or effective policy or program to boost domestic energy supplies. As a consequence, it is Americans who are paying the price for Obama’s failure. Four years of promises, and absolutely zero progress has been made to fix our nation’s energy issues.”

In a speech yesterday in Miami, the President continued to pin his hopes for energy independence on federal spending for renewable energy sources such as bio-fuels, saying, “We’re making new investments in the development of gasoline and diesel and jet fuel that’s actually made from a plant-like substance — algae. You’ve got a bunch of algae out here, right? If we can figure out how to make energy out of that, we’ll be doing all right.”

Said Martin, “I know Mrs. Obama wants the country to eat more vegetables, but now asking that our CARS eat vegetables too… well that’s just too much. Americans need energy now, not science experiments that won’t provide us a drop of fuel for years. It’s too bad we can’t fuel our cars on broken promises and inaction; otherwise our energy problems would be a thing of the past. This President has the wrong policies, the wrong priorities, and his delays are now causing real pain for Americans, and as long as he remains in the White House it is only going to get worse.”

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