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Hillary Clinton’s anti-fracking stance during her recent debate with Bernie Sanders in Michigan, and more recently at an Ohio town hall, would be ironic, if not for the fact that positions change with the winds these days on the presidential campaign trail.

As widely reported, Clinton promoted hydraulic fracturing “in other countries for years.” In addition, it wasn’t even 10 months ago that the Environmental Protection Agency released its definitive report noting that no evidence exists that the gas-extraction process contaminates drinking water.

Nonetheless, hostility directed at the oil and gas industry has been a regular feature in our nation’s politics, such as by the Obama administration, and even here in Pennsylvania. It deserves examination.

In fact, the oil and gas industry suffers perception problems that do not reflect its reality.

Let’s start with the oft-used, alleged derogatory moniker: “Big Oil.” Despite frequent claims that the energy business is all about “Big Oil,” the majority of American companies that invest and innovate in the energy sector are, in fact, small businesses.

Consider, for example, that 90.7 percent of employer firms among oil and gas extraction businesses, 78.1 percent of drilling oil and gas wells businesses, 81.5 percent of firms among support activities for oil and gas operations businesses, 60.5 percent of oil and gas pipeline and related structures construction businesses, and 54.7 percent of firms among oil and gas field machinery and equipment manufacturing businesses have less than 20 workers.

With this knowledge, it’s accurate to say that the U.S. energy supply chain and American small business are truly one and the same. Promote growth in the energy sector, and you are producing jobs, increasing tax revenue, and ensuring the country’s economic expansion.

In fact, it was the shale gas revolution that led to the explosive job growth in the oil and gas sector that bolstered the U.S. economy for several years in the wake of the recession. Here in Pennsylvania, against a backdrop of total U.S. employment decline from 2005 to 2012, we saw job growth of 100 percent in all vital energy industries analyzed, including job growth of 512.3 percent in the oil and gas support sector, and a small business – again, those firms that employ less than 20 Pennsylvanians – growth of 173.3 percent.

Now, of course, the industry is hurting amidst the decline in oil and gas prices. There is a global supply glut for both oil and natural gas resources. For instance, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report, total U.S. stockpiles are at their highest level in more than 80 years. In addition, the most recent U.S. Energy Department’s weekly inventory release showed a record high in U.S. natural gas supplies, while total working gas in underground storage is above the five-year historical range.

The low price/full reserves combo has had devastating effect on jobs, with more than 250,000 laid off employees around the world, according to industry consultant Graves & Co. In Pennsylvania, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, employment in the state’s mining industry, which includes oil and gas extraction, declined by nearly 11 percent in 2015, compared to growth of 4 percent in 2014.

Pennsylvania is fortunate to have the abundant natural resources that can provide good jobs for families, and reinvigorate many communities still suffering from a slow economic recovery. But the reality is this industry, while large and foundational, still needs encouragement and a friendly business environment in order to thrive. Therefore, if our presidential candidates are serious about putting the U.S. on a path of robust economic, income and job growth, then they must advance real, pro-growth policies. Such policies include tax and regulatory relief, and most certainly are not about increasing costs via more taxes and regulations on the energy sector, or any other industries for that matter.

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Raymond J. Keating

Guest columnist

Raymond J. Keating is chief economist for the Vienna, Virginia-based Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council. For information, visit sbecouncil.org.