Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less: A Handbook for Slashing Gas Prices and Solving Our Energy Crisis

by Newt Gingrich, Callista Gingrich

America is unrivaled in our ability to solve tough problems and create bold, powerful solutions. That’s exactly what we need to do with the energy crisis we now face. We CAN become energy independent, while lowering prices at the pump today and developing innovative and effective energy alternatives for the future. We CAN produce an overwhelming supply of oil and natural gas here at home, and break the stranglehold that foreign countries have on our energy supply, and our economy. And we CAN be responsible stewards of our environment, protecting the grand beauty and richness of our country without sacrificing our robust engines of growth, expansion, and entrepreneurship. As Newt Gingrich, former Speaker of the House and bestselling author, spells out in stunning simplicity, when it comes to developing domestic energy resources, we CAN do it all. Isn’t it time we relied on American energy for America’s security and prosperity? With your help, your citizen action, and Newt Gingrich’s plan as laid out in Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less , we can solve this energy crisis—and slash gas prices, too.

Genres: Politics

Kindle Edition

First published September 2, 2008

About the author

Newt Gingrich is well-known as the architect of the “Contract with America” that led the Republican Party to victory in 1994 by capturing the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives for the first time in forty years. After he was elected Speaker, he disrupted the status quo by moving power out of Washington and back to the American people. Under his leadership, Congress passed welfare reform, the first balanced budget in a generation, and the first tax cut in sixteen years. In addition, the Congress restored funding to strengthen defense and intelligence capabilities, an action later lauded by the bipartisan 9/11 Commission.

Today Newt Gingrich is a Fox News contributor. He is a Senior Advisor at Dentons, the world’s largest law firm with more than 6,500 lawyers in 50 countries and offices in more than 125 cities. He advises the firm’s world-class Public Policy and Regulation practice. He is also a Senior Scientist at Gallup.

From May 2011 to May 2012, Newt Gingrich was a candidate for the Republican nomination for President of the United States, winning the South Carolina and the Georgia primaries. The campaign was especially notable for its innovative policy agenda, its effort to bring new coalitions into the Republican fold, and for Newt’s debate performances. His $2.50 a gallon energy plan set off a nationwide discussion about the use of America’s energy resources.
But there is a lot more to Newt Gingrich than these remarkable achievements. As an author, Newt has published twenty-nine books including 14 fiction and nonfiction New York Times best-sellers.
Non-fiction books include his latest, Breakout, in addition to A Nation Like No Other, Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny, To Save America, Rediscovering God in America, 5 Principles for a Successful Life, Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less, Real Change, A Contract with the Earth, Winning the Future: A 21st Century Contract with America, To Renew America, Lessons Learned the Hard Way, Saving Lives & Saving Money, Window of Opportunity, and The Art of Transformation. He is also the author of a series of historical fiction books including, Gettysburg, Grant Comes East, Never Call Retreat: Lee and Grant the Final Victory, 1945, Pearl Harbor, Days of Infamy, To Make Men Free, To Try Men’s Souls, Valley Forge, and Victory at Yorktown. These novels are active history studies in the lessons of warfare based on fictional accounts of historical wartime battles and their aftermaths. His latest novel, Treason, is the sequel to Duplicity and is a thriller of Washington intrigue and international terrorism.

Newt and his wife, Callista, host and produce historical and public policy documentaries. Recent films include The First American, Divine Mercy: The Canonization of John Paul II, A City Upon A Hill, America at Risk, Nine Days That Changed The World, Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny, Rediscovering God in America, Rediscovering God in America II: Our Heritage, and We Have the Power.

In his post-Speaker role, Newt has become one of the most highly sought-after public speakers, accepting invitations to speak before prestigious organizations throughout the world. Because of his own unquenchable thirst for knowledge, Newt is able to share unique and unparalleled insights on a wide range of topics. His audiences find him to be not only educational but also inspirational. For more information about Newt’s speaking engagements, please visit the Worldwide Speakers Group.

Widely recognized for his commitment to a better system of health for all Americans, his leadership in the U.S. Congress helped save Medicare from bankruptcy, prompted FDA reform to help the seriously ill and initiated a new focus on research, prevention, and wellness. His contributions have been so great that the American Diabetes Association awarded him their highest non-medical award and the March of Dimes named him their 1995 Citizen of the Year.
To foster a modern health system that provide

Reviews

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The premise of this book is clear after reading only the title. Gingrich puts forward both practical and detailed solutions on moving America away from dependance on volatile regimes for its energy. It is refreshing to see this argument coming from conservative point of view that does not dismiss the environmental impacts of such policies, but rather takes them on and shows how these reforms can be accomplished in an environmentally responsible manner.
I have read a couple of Newt Gingrich's other works - and my one issue with this book is the tone is not consistent with his other writings. I do realize he has a co-author on board for this one, but it is a decidedly different "voice" laying out these proposals. It is apparent to me that he either took a back-seat in writing this book, or his co-author did quite a bit of final editing (or a combination of the two).

[Ron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not apt to change any minds, Gingrich may offend even those who agree with him by the way he vilifies the opposition and over simplifies the route to energy independence.

As he admits, it's less about science and technology than values and politics. (The chart contrasting "American exceptionalism value system" and "Post-American value system" [pp. 115 & 116:] is especially instructive.) But his approach is part of the problem, not the solution.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book about our nation's energy crisis and recommendations to fix it using both short-term and long-term solutions. The basic message is that we need to stop spending $700 billion/yr on foreign oil by 1) easing up on the restrictions and bureaucracy that stops us from accessing the abundant oil, shale oil and natural gas in our own country and 2) creating incentives so we can pursue alternative energies. Doing both would not only help our economy by increasing tax revenues but would also make us safer by not sending so much revenue to countries that don't have our best interests. (Obviously, I've drastically summarized the details and facts.) The book is an easy read with concise summaries if you don't want to read the whole book.

[Jw423 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Some interesting information about American energy sources and our policy for useing them. I am sure the book is slanted one way but, if it is even half true America could be a world leader in energy in a very short time.

[David Rosage · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book full of valuable facts that help bring the whole drilling question into perspective. Newt offers a very Pro-American solution to the energy crisis.

[Warren Benton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in 2008 when the economy was crashing, oil prices we skyrocketing, Gingrich wrote this book on his view on how we could get immediate relief at the pumps.  His idea was Drill Here and Drill Now.  Gingrich talks of how the liberals were ruining the economy because they force higher standards on companies for cleaner fuel and companies make less money.  Also with higher environmental standards that the US tries to uphold, the rest of the world doesn't do it.  So why is the US really trying to do the "right" thing when no one else is.

Gingrich spent some time talking about the political elites that are out of touch with the American public.   He discusses how the policies that were holding back drilling in 2008 were a decades-old (some were put in during his time in Congress) Gingrich this the environmental hoops that companies are put through and all the bureaucratic red tape is too much.  The time it takes to do the environmental study, get the proper permits, get approval to build, and the time to take to build can take a decade or more.

To me people are normally in 1 of 3 camps:

Either you trust companies to look out for the consumer and the environment (Gingrich seems to)
You trust the government to look out for the consumer and the environment
you don't trust either and try your best to look out for yourself and the environment.
Gingrich is appalled that politicians would have the audacity to talk about how much energy the average American consumer uses.  He doesn't feel that it is the government's place to step in and tell companies to make more energy efficient products, or tell the consumer to monitor their usages and try to cut back.  Since I fall into the 3rd camp, I try little things on my own, which does not help the overall world but helps my wallet.  I drive a fuel-efficient car (38mpg) and I also cut off lights, and have a programmable thermostat.  These are all less about the overall environment, and more because I am frugal.

I struggled reading this book because of hindsight bias.  Some of his ideas, I know how they will work out, some like fracking, he doesn't know yet the number of earthquakes that will happen in the surrounding areas.  He also discusses how little offshore drilling will spill, because Deepwater Horizon has not happened yet.  Gingrich discusses how we need to issue more H-1B visas because we need the best engineers and scientist over here working on our energy.  Also discussed was solar, wind, and electric cars.  He believes we need to subsidize these industries.  Giving massive tax breaks and handouts to the most productive.  Where I currently live we had an influx of multiple large solar farms and thousands of acres of wind turbines.  The county has just put a moratorium on future development because with the land going from a farm tax rate to not tax at all the county is losing tons of money.  And whoever states that it brings tons of jobs to the area is lying.  there is an initial influx of workers needed to construct the solar panels, but once up, everyone is let go.  So it only increases workers for a season.  

One other thing the Gingrich kept bringing up is clean coal.  We need more coal factories which everything I have read coal is not clean.  Now his other power plant idea is nuclear stating how parts of Europe has embraced nuclear and how we got scared after a couple of meltdowns and now have shunned away from it.  He thinks we need to take a long hard look again because it would provide a massive amount of energy at a portion of the current cost and how unless it melts down that the overall pollution is less than coal or gas.  

In 2008 to relieve the American public Gingrich thought we should remove the ban for offshore drilling, and allowing the Alaskan terrain to be tapped also.  The problem with both of these, and really wind and solar, most American's want the help and reduced expense of energy, but most suffer from NIMBY (not in my backyard).  So being a decade after this energy crisis, we have more electric cars but are still mostly fueled by oil.  It is a shame how little advances have been made to make our nation more energy independent.  

[Jeff · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm only 10 pages in, but already seems politics as usual. i am sure that my eco-left opinions shade my view, but Newt is a hateful right-wing nut job. But I'll read the rest of the book to see how "the other side" views the issue.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very compelling and accurate plan for energy freedom and development.