After becoming the youngest member of Congress at age 26 to hold office, Adam Putnam decided — after a decade in D.C. — that it was clearly time to come home.
In an interview on WUSF Florida Matters, the Polk County native and fifth-generation Floridian — now running for a second term as Florida Agriculture Commissioner — says he prefers Florida to Washington.
“Nobody wonders now why it was that I wanted to get out of Congress,” Putnam told host Carson Cooper. “At the time, I said I wanted to get out with my soul and my sanity still in tack, and I’m proud that I did. But the things that were frustrating me in Congress have only gotten worse. It’s just a hot, wet mess in Washington.”
As for the state’s energy policy, Putnam had proposed cutting taxes on consumers and businesses by $250 million, as well as developing a Clean Energy Research & Development Match Fund. Money for the Fund would go to an investment in innovation; it would not be subsidized with new capital, but from money redirected from a Renewable Energy and Energy-Efficient Technologies (REET) Grant Program established in 2006.
“Energy policy is the lifeblood of our economy,” he told Cooper, which involves “cutting the sales tax that businesses pay on the purchase of electricity, which will make us more competitive with our Southeastern states and applying the remaining half to public education capital outlay.”
Putnam also suggested a sales tax holiday on the purchase of Energy Star appliances. He added that it would be a “proven method,” of helping consumers use “a lot less water and energy.”
For further oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, Putnam says there is “no need” for offshore drilling.
“There’s not the necessary demand for it given the shale-gas revolution, and how cheap natural gas is,” he said. “The bulk of reserves that are known that are off-shore in the near-shore area of the eastern Gulf are gas reserves, not oil reserves.”
Although he is “optimistic about the potential” of his home state, Putnam dismissed rumors that he is seeking the governorship.
“I’m focused on running for re-election as Ag Commissioner,” he said. “I love Florida.”
Calling the Sunshine State “center-right,” Putnam feels the success of the conservative movement (including the Tea Party) is all about “growth and opportunities.”
“I’m a conservative,” Putnam said, “but I’m not angry about it.”
The interview with WUSF Florida Matters can be found here.
