Spur Job Creation with Energy Development - Not TARP Funds
Jack Gerard
Posted December 8, 2009
In a speech today at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C., President Obama outlined a series of job creation ideas and called for using some of the $200 billion in the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to help pay down the $1.4 trillion budget deficit and "create fiscal room for job creation programs."
While we agree with the President that getting Americans back to work is a top priority, the oil and gas industry, which supports 9.2 million American jobs, stands ready to create even more good jobs--without the need of TARP money, subsidies or other government handouts. All we need are sound government policies that encourage--not discourage--the development of our domestic resources.
We also agree our country needs more jobs, including green jobs. America's oil and gas industry is one of the biggest creators of green jobs, having invested $58.4 billion in carbon mitigation technologies between 2000 and 2008, more than any other private industry or the federal government.
About The Author
Jack N. Gerard is president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute (API), the national trade association that represents all aspects of America’s oil and natural gas industry. He also has served as the president and CEO of trade associations representing the chemical and mining industries. Jack understands how Washington works. He spent several years working in the U.S. Senate and House, and co-founded a Washington-based government relations consulting firm. A native of Idaho, Jack also is very active in the Boy Scouts of America, a university graduate program on politics, and his church’s leadership. He and his wife are the proud parents of eight children, including twin boys adopted from Guatemala.