Commencing on Monday, a prominent national energy industry group is initiating an endeavor to evaluate and rank presidential candidates based on their proposed energy plans.
Power the Future intends to distribute a comprehensive questionnaire, along with a letter, to each presidential campaign. The purpose is to assess energy policies and provide the public with insights into the candidates’ positions on this crucial matter.
“Over the past two plus years, American families have become painfully aware about the critical role energy plays in our lives,” Daniel Turner, the founder and executive director of Power the Future, told Fox News Digital. “A series of misguided policy decisions by the Biden administration surrendered American energy independence, contributed to 40-year high inflation and drove a gallon of gasoline past $5, the highest in history.”
“Perhaps never before has the United States needed sound energy policy so urgently,” he continued. “Our goal with this questionnaire is simply creating a platform for a broader and productive discussion on an important topic.”
Power the Future’s letter, obtained by Fox News Digital, emphasizes the importance of informing the American public about the candidates’ “vision for our energy future.” The group’s president, Turner, affirms their commitment to transparency by pledging to publish all unedited responses received from the campaigns.
Accompanying the letter is a questionnaire that poses several key inquiries. Firstly, it asks candidates if they would reverse President Biden’s initial actions, such as terminating the Keystone XL pipeline and imposing a pause on fossil fuel production on federal lands and waters. Additionally, candidates are questioned on their plans to restore U.S. oil production to its pre-2019 level of 13 million barrels per day.
Furthermore, the questionnaire delves into issues of national importance, seeking the candidates’ strategies for replenishing the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, ensuring the reliability of the nationwide power grid, and promoting affordable electricity. It also probes whether candidates would support the repeal of any provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act, a significant climate and tax package passed by Democrats in August 2022. Finally, candidates are asked for their stance on whether they consider manmade climate change to be an immediate existential threat necessitating government intervention.
“We’re hopeful each campaign responds with their plan to bring back American energy independence because working families deserve a president who will put them ahead of the failed green agenda,” Turner told Fox News Digital.
Since declaring their presidential candidacy, nearly all major candidates have presented comprehensive energy plans.
Former President Donald Trump, who currently holds a leading position in Republican primary polls, highlights “unleashing energy dominance” as a crucial objective on his campaign website. The website outlines Trump’s intention to enhance the production of domestic energy resources, prioritize energy security, and reduce prices.
Governor DeSantis has endorsed certain environmentally friendly policies lauded by clean energy associations. In 2019, he issued an order opposing offshore oil and gas activities along all coastlines in Florida, as well as fracking within the state.
Other Republican candidates, including former Vice President Mike Pence, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, and Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, have emphasized the significance of an inclusive energy agenda that encompasses expanded domestic production.
