Tom Hayhurst on Energy

Energy

It is time for America to declare its energy independence. Our country's security depends on it. The pocketbooks of working families depend on it. Our ability to compete and create jobs depends on it. Our innovation future depends on it. And the natural environment we all inhabit and rely upon depends on it.

We start by making it our national priority. Then we take action. We launch a total-commitment initiative that links the best in our private and public sectors together to turn American ingenuity into America's new energy. The missing ingredient today is leadership. And that is why this election is so important.

As a physician for over 30 years, I know you save lives by making smart decisions and taking action. As a City Councilman for 10 years, I know you build strong communities by rolling up your sleeves and getting to work – solving problems, not ignoring them or putting our country at risk. We need that determination now. We need that kind of fresh thinking, free from the grip of special interests, in Congress.

Northeast Indiana is well positioned to be a leader in our move toward energy independence. We are a region that makes things and makes them well. That manufacturing know-how can be transformed into high-mileage, emission-friendly cars, trucks, RVs and boats. It can be put into a high-speed, energy-efficient rail system to boost regional and national commerce and connectivity.

We are an area with a rich farming tradition and respect for the earth. Those skills give us an edge in the development of biofuels and other renewable forms of energy. The land that feeds us can become the land that fuels us, converting the crops we grow into the power behind our dreams.

When I am in the U.S. Congress, I will:

• Campaign for a national commitment to energy independence and a comprehensive, commonsense plan to advance it.

• Fight to make America more secure by lessening our dependence on foreign oil.

• Support incentives for the development and use of biofuels, renewable fuels and alternative energy sources, the raw materials for many grown here on our farms.

• Promote policies and programs that encourage conservation and energy efficiency.