FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                             CONTACT: Joshua Gillespie
January 20, 2011                                                                                       (317) 848-0201

Burton Calls for an End to the Moratorium on New Offshore Drilling

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN-05) issued the following statement calling for the Obama Administration to rescind its December 1, 2010 decision that the government will not propose any new oil exploration in waters off the Eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Mid and South Atlantic through 2017:

“In these anxious financial times our country can ill afford the Obama Administration’s seven-year moratorium on new offshore oil and gas exploration and drilling.  Oil and natural gas will continue to play a big part of our energy mix for a long time to come, so we must be able to access our own natural resources rather than becoming more dependent on unstable parts of the world for our energy needs.  With the price of crude oil again on the rise and, subsequently, with gas prices all across the country also on the rise, now is the time to take action that will lead us to a lessened dependence on foreign oil.

“This week, I introduced a resolution which expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the steady, safe and dependable development of domestic oil and gas resources is critical to our Nation’s energy, economic and National security needs.

“The actions of this Administration could lead to devastating economic circumstances.  Recent estimates place total job losses by 2014, as a result of delaying or preventing drilling off the Gulf Coast, at 120,000.  In addition, a current policy brief from the Ball State Center for Business and Economic Research shows a correlation between a $1.00 rise in gas and a 1.3 percent to 1.5 percent rise in Indiana’s unemployment rate. 

“We must act reasonably and responsibly to ensure safe expansion and production of our own domestic energy supply.  Further limitation to domestic exploration only serves to curb America’s economic growth.”

Background:

Rep. Burton’s resolution expresses that it should be the policy of the United States to allow for the development of offshore oil and gas rich areas in an environmentally responsible manner, and calls upon the Department of Interior to:

• Promptly rescind its December 1, 2010, announcement that the government will not propose any new oil drilling in waters off the East Coast, West Coast or Eastern Gulf of Mexico for at least seven years;
• Expedite the processing and approval of drilling permits, exploration plans, development coordination documents, and development and production plans;
• Allow new lease sales in all permissible areas of the Outer Continental Shelf, including the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska, and Atlantic areas; and
• Complete environmental analysis related to offshore leasing activities, including the 2007-2012 OCS Leasing Program and any other analysis related to litigation over the program, VA Sale 220, geological and geophysical activity work in the Atlantic Planning Areas, and the 2012-2017 OCS Leasing Program.

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