U.S. Sens. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.; Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.; Mark Kirk, R-Ill.; and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., have formed the Senate Energy and Environment Working Group.
The group will focus on ways to protect the environment and climate, as well as bolster clean energy innovation to drive job creation. The senators will meet periodically to discuss general energy and environmental issues and exchange ideas about potential legislation.
Ayotte, who helped organize the group, says she is working to grow membership among Senate Republicans.
‘The United States has a better energy policy than we're given credit for because we rely on government-sponsored research, private property, access to capital, entrepreneurship and the advantages of a huge marketplace,’ says Alexander. ‘We need to end our obsession with taxpayer subsidies and strategies for expensive energy and instead focus on doubling research and allowing innovative marketplace solutions to create an abundance of clean, cheap, reliable energy.’
