July 18, 2001

Washington, D.C.-The Small Business Survival Committee (SBSC) has just issued a 40 page guide to a successful U.S. energy policy.  The new SBSC report provides a wealth of energy facts; a history of U.S. energy policy; a sober assessment of global warming and related proposed policies; a look at what has gone wrong in states like California; and an assessment of the Bush administration`s energy proposals.

"Our energy crisis today is not about a looming depletion of energy resources, threatened destruction of the environment, wasteful consumers, greedy energy companies, or even OPEC.  Instead, we are experiencing a crisis of misguided government rules, regulations, and taxes that have endangered consumers, businesses of every size and type, U.S. competitiveness, and the economy," said SBSC chief economist Raymond J. Keating, author of the SBSC report entitled "Energy Freedom: Lifting Government Burdens on U.S. Energy Producers & Consumers."

"Nothing is more crucial to the future of the economy and survival of small businesses than a successful energy policy," said SBSC president Darrell McKigney.  "Our goal in this report is to show that providing relief from regulatory restrictions and red tape, expanding energy exploration and development, and reducing international trade barriers are the real keys to successful energy plan."

Among its policy recommendations, SBSC calls for the elimination of price controls; lifting restrictions on energy exploration and production on federal lands; reducing regulatory barriers to building petroleum refineries, pipelines, electricity generation plants of all kinds, and transmission systems; performing a top-to-bottom review of all regulations affecting the energy industry and eliminating those that are costly and ineffective; avoiding all efforts to regulate CO2 emissions; stopping all efforts to increase CAFE standards; eliminating federal gas and diesel taxes; eliminating all forms of corporate welfare for energy-related industries; and advancing a free trade agenda.

"In the end, the U.S. does not need to enhance government rules, regulations and taxes on the energy front, but instead needs to enhance energy freedom, so producers can properly react to price and profit signals, and provide consumers with reliable and affordable energy," Keating concluded.

The complete 40 page "Energy Freedom: Lifting Government Burdens on U.S. Energy Producers & Consumers" is the latest report in SBSC's "21st Century Small Business Policy Series," and can be downloaded from the group's website at www.sbsc.org.

SBSC is a leading national nonprofit, nonpartisan small business advocacy group headquartered in Washington, D.C.  For more information, call SBSC at 202-785-0238 or visit www.sbsc.org.