Energy
GILMORE RHETORIC: "There is no substitute for decisive action right now to do domestic oil production in the United States in ANWR and offshore. Mark Warner will not do these things, and I will" (WSET-TV, 6/23/08).
REALITY: Mark Warner is with Republican presidential nominee John McCain in opposing drilling in ANWR. Mark Warner is with Republican U.S. Senator John Warner and Democrat Jim Webb in supporting the exploration for natural gas 50 miles off Virginia’s coast. In both instances, every expert agrees any oil is at least a decade away, and would only reduce gas prices by less than a nickel a gallon. Governor Warner believes Jim Gilmore’s "Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less" slogan is a short-sighted, 20th century solution to America’s 21st century energy challenges, and would only further our addiction to oil.
GILMORE RHETORIC: “To increase the supply of oil and bring gas prices down, Jim Gilmore believes we must drill for oil in the U.S. to increase American oil production so that we can begin to immediately bring down gas prices. . . Mark Warner has said he is against drilling in ANWR in Alaska.” [Gilmore Flyer, accessed 6/14/08]
REALITY: Drilling in the ANWR would provide neither immediate nor significant relief at the pump. Such drilling could reduce gas prices by only one to four cents, and would not provide that relief until the year 2018. Moreover, the Energy Information Agency produced a report in May 2008 that stated, “ANWR oil production is not projected to have a large impact on world oil prices.” [Joint Economic Committee Economic Fact Sheet, 6/10/08; Energy Information Administration/Analysis of Crude Oil Production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Pg. 11, 5/2008]
GILMORE RHETORIC: Mark Warner “vetoed 2005 legislation that would have allowed offshore drilling.” [Gilmore Flyer, accessed 6/14/08]
REALITY: The 2005 legislation would not have “allowed offshore drilling.” As the Newport News Daily Press reported, “As governor, Warner vetoed a bill that would have directed the Virginia Liaison Office to work with Congress to exempt the state from the moratorium on offshore natural gas exploration and development. Warner vetoed that bill for two reasons: It encroached on the governor’s authority to direct the liaison office, and it compelled the state to lobby for legislation that had not yet been drafted. In his veto message, Warner wrote: ‘We need consensus on a national energy policy, and the contemplated federal legislation raises significant public policy issues on which I am willing to keep an open mind.’" [Daily Press, 6/11/08]