Tonight, President Obama will address the nation in his annual State of the Union Address. With an inevitable focus on America’s outlook, here’s what the President and key members of his administration have said about safe and responsible natural gas development, which is a powerful engine for job growth and opportunity.

ECONOMIC GROWTH

  • President Obama: “America is closer to energy independence than we’ve been in decades.” (U.S. News & World Report, 1/28/14)
  • President Obama: “After years of talking about it, we are finally poised to control our own energy future. We produce more natural gas than ever before – and nearly everyone’s energy bill is lower because of it. … The natural gas boom has led to cleaner power and greater energy independence. We need to encourage that.” (State of the Union address, 2013)
  • Secretary Moniz: “This natural gas revolution is driving economic growth across the country, lowering energy prices and creating jobs.” (Department of Energy, 7/29/14)
  • Secretary Moniz: “Obviously, it’s a huge economic benefit.” (New York Daily News op-ed, 9/23/13)
  • Vice President Joe Biden: “You all know about the Marcellus Shale — I think you heard of that, right? There’s an energy boom that’s changed the paradigm of manufacturing. It’s cheaper to manufacture in the United States than it is in Europe and/or in Asia.” (Remarks, 4/16/14)

JOB CREATION

  • President Obama: “Our 100-year supply of natural gas is a big factor in drawing jobs back to our shores. Many are in manufacturing – the quintessential middle-class job.” (Remarks, 10/2/14)
  • President Obama: “American manufacturing has added more than 700,000 new jobs. It’s growing almost twice as fast as the rest of the economy.” (Remarks, 10/2/14)
  • President Obama: “We’ve got to tap into this natural gas revolution that’s bringing energy costs down in this country, which means manufacturers now want to locate here because they’re thinking that we’ve got durable, reliable supplies of energy.” (Remarks, 7/25/13)
  • President Obama: “The bottom line is, natural gas is creating jobs. It’s lowering many families’ heat and power bills.” (NY Daily News editorial, 6/29/13)

SAFE AND RESPONSIBLE

  • Interior Secretary, Sally Jewell: “[Fracking] has been done for decades and has the potential for developing significant domestic resources and strengthening our economy and will be done for decades to come.” (U-T San Diego, 8/5/13)
  • Secretary Jewell: “There is a lot of misinformation about fracking.” (KQED, 1/2/15)
  • Former Interior Secretary, Ken Salazar: “I would say to everybody that hydraulic fracking is safe.” (Washington Examiner, 9/24/13)
  • Former Energy Secretary, Steven Chu: Shale development and hydraulic fracturing “is something you can do in a safe way.” (Washington Examiner, 9/24/13)

ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS

  • Secretary Moniz: “Since 2007, we have seen a 10 percent decline in carbon emissions. About half of that is due to efficiency gains and growing electricity generation from natural gas.” (Dept. of Energy, 7/29/14)
  • Secretary Moniz: “[Fracking has] been a big contributor to our carbon reduction.” (NY Daily News op-ed, 9/23/13)
  • President Obama: “We should strengthen our position as the top natural gas producer because…it not only can provide safe, cheap power, but it can also help reduce our carbon emissions.” (Bloomberg News, 6/25/13)
  • President Obama:“We produce more natural gas than any country on Earth. … We want to make sure that — we’re going to create strategies to make sure that good jobs in wind and solar and natural gas that are lowering costs and, at the same time, reducing dangerous carbon pollution happen right here in the United States.” (Remarks, 7/24/13)
  • U.S. EPA Administrator, Gina McCarthy: “Responsible development of natural gas is an important part of our work to curb climate change and support a robust clean energy market at home.” (The Hill, 8/14/13)

STRENGTHENED SECURTY

  • President Obama: “Today, the number one oil and gas producer in the world is no longer Russia or Saudi Arabia; it’s America.” (Remarks, 10/2/14)
  • President Obama: “We produce more natural gas than any country on Earth.” (Remarks, 7/25/13)

Follow tonight’s #SOTU coverage on Twitter by connecting with @MarcellusGas.