House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) introduced his Path to Prosperity budget Tuesday. On the energy front, Ryan’s budget asserts that it will cut corporate welfare by rolling back extensive handouts for uncompetitive sources of energy, while also removing moratoriums on safe, responsible energy exploration.

Just last week, President Obama outlined his energy policy proposal which was laden with misleading rhetoric regarding the feasibility of converting to alternative energy sources and electric cars. President Obama offered little hope for Americans who are being hurt by high prices at the pump, and announced his plans to further subsidize alternative energy, including solar, wind, and biofuels such as ethanol.


In response to accusations that President Obama’s administration was stifling domestic energy production, the President replied with misleading assertions about the existence of unused leases, pointing the finger at energy companies for supposedly hoarding domestic resources.


In contrast, Paul Ryan’s budget proposal contains the following promising remarks:



This budget would continue funding essential government missions, including energy security and basic research and development, while paring back spending in areas of duplication or non-core functions, such as applied and commercial research or development projects best left to the private sector.


Ultimately, the best energy policy is one that encourages robust competition and innovation to ensure the American people an affordable and stable supply of energy. This budget would roll back federal intervention and expensive corporate-welfare funding directed to the president’s allied industries. Instead, it would promote policies aimed at reliable energy, lower energy prices, greater revenue generation through prosperity, and marketbased solutions to the goal of sustainable energy.


I look forward to seeing the numbers on this proposal, and I certainly hope that at the least the ethanol subsidy will be scrapped once and for all.