Gov. Bob McDonnell blasted President Obama Tuesday for slowing down efforts to expand offshore drilling and for instituting environmental regulations he said prevent Virginia from creating jobs and taking the lead in energy production nationwide.
Speaking at the Southern States Energy Board Governors Energy Summit in Alexandria, McDonnell said the commonwealth and the nation need to take an all-of-the-above approach to energy production to ween the country off of foreign oil. That includes alternative green energy solutions, he said, though it was not part of this discussion.
Instead, the dialogue focused on nuclear energy, coal and natural gas production and Environmental Protection Agency regulations, a frequent target of Republicans. McDonnell urged Obama to increase nuclear capacity and opportunities for off-shore drilling along the East Coast.
U.S. Senator Mark Warner, D-Va., echoed McDonnell’s comments that the country should diversify its energy portfolio. There is no “single silver bullet,” Warner said, while emphasizing that other Western nations were surpassing the U.S. in energy production.
Warner said it will take an uncommon coalition of Republican and Democratic governors and lawmakers to push a new energy agenda that includes utilizing natural resources, exploring nuclear options and investing in alternative solutions.
The summit included a handful of Republican governors and a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators, in addition to representatives from the gas, nuclear and coal industries. All sides agreed that it will take a strong push from state executives to force Congress to act. After the meeting, McDonnell said he was not optimistic there would be much progress in Washington.
