WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - In a speech outlining his energy policy, Donald Trump made it clear that he is continuing to push a fossil fuel agenda.
Trump told the Shale Insight conference in Pittsburgh Thursday that he will open up federal lands for oil and gas production, open offshore areas, and revoke policies that are imposing unnecessary restrictions on innovative new exploration technologies.
Stressing the need for an 'America-First energy plan,' Trump said he is going to lift the restrictions on American energy, including shale production.
According to the Institute for Energy Research, easing of control is estimated to increase GDP by more than $100 billion annually, add over 500,000 new jobs, increase annual wages, and increase federal, state, and local tax revenues by almost $6 trillion over four decades.
A Trump administration will streamline the permitting process for all energy infrastructure projects, including the billions of dollars in projects held up by President Obama.
He accused his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton of declaring war on oil and natural gas production, which supports 10 million jobs in the United States.
The Republican presidential nominee warned that Clinton's plan to put the coal miners out of work, ban hydraulic fracturing, and extensively restrict and ban energy production on public lands and in most offshore areas will hurt states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, where shale energy and coal production are critical parts of the economy.
'At the same time, this energy revolution will produce new demand for American steel', he told the gathering, which was made up of executives from the Marcellus Shale Coalition, the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, and the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association.
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