AEA Releases American Energy Scorecard

In a release sent to Rigzone by American Energy Alliance (AEA) President Thomas Pyle this week, the AEA revealed the launch of its “newly redesigned 2024 American Energy Scorecard” for the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives.

“This comprehensive tool evaluates legislators’ voting records and co-sponsorship decisions on critical energy issues in order to inform voters and hold Members of Congress accountable to their constituents,” the AEA release noted.

The release included a list of “core principles of the American Energy Scorecard”. That list, as it appeared in the release, can be seen below.

• Promoting affordable, abundant, and reliable energy.
• Expanding economic opportunity and prosperity, particularly for working families and those on fixed incomes.
• Empowering Americans to make their own energy choices, free from bureaucratic constraints.
• Encouraging private sector innovation and entrepreneurship.
• Advancing market-oriented energy and environmental policies.
• Reducing government interference in energy markets.
• Eliminating subsidies, mandates, and special interest giveaways that drive up energy costs.

The release said “each member was given advance notice of the votes that would be scored, ensuring transparency and fairness” adding that “the scored votes covered a diverse range of energy issues affecting the American people”.

The AEA release highlighted that its latest scorecard assessed seven votes from the senators serving in the 118th Congress. It noted that “only two senators achieved a 90 percent score, the minimum score AEA’s scorecard uses to classify a senator as an Energy Champion”. No senators achieved a score of 100 percent, it pointed out.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz and Florida Senator Rick Scott are “American Energy Champions in the Senate”, the release revealed.

“While AEA applauds the two members who achieved 90 percent, we must also note those in key races whose voting record was especially harmful to their districts,” the release stated.

“Of the many low-scoring senators, Senators John Tester of Montana (33 percent) and Bob Casey (50 percent) of Pennsylvania were especially noticeable given the important role energy plays within their states’ economies,” it added.

In the release, Pyle said, “as we approach the upcoming election, voters deserve to know whether or not their elected officials support policies that promote domestic energy production and lead to affordable and reliable electricity and gasoline prices”.

“The newly redesigned American Energy Scorecard empowers citizens to judge their elected representatives by their actions, not their words,” he added.

“The American Energy Alliance applauds the American Energy Champions in both the House and Senate. These leaders are dedicated to advancing domestic energy production and ensuring affordable and reliable energy remains accessible to the American people and the rest of the world,” he continued.

Rigzone contacted Senators Cruz, Scott, Tester, and Casey for comment on the AEA release. In response, a Cruz campaign spokesperson told Rigzone, “Texas is the energy capital of the United States, and protecting the energy industry is a top priority for Texas voters”.

“The industry is the reason Texas is an economic powerhouse, and it provides countless jobs for Texans,” the spokesperson added.

Scott, Tester, and Casey have not yet responded to Rigzone’s request at the time of writing.

The AEA describes itself as a not-for-profit organization that engages in grassroots public policy advocacy and debate concerning energy and environmental issues. AEA is the advocacy arm of the Institute for Energy Research, a tax-exempt public foundation that conducts intensive research and analysis on global energy markets, the AEA’s latest release notes.

AEA states on its website that it has no ties to any political party and that it has no interest in supporting the agenda of any particular political party. It adds that AEA is an issue organization that supports affordable, abundant, and reliable energy for America’s consumers and businesses.

Pyle has previously held “numerous positions on Capitol Hill including serving as a Policy Analyst for the Majority Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives and as Staff Director for the Congressional Western Caucus”, the AEA site highlights.

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