Lafayette, LA– U.S. Congressman Charles W. Boustany, Jr., MD (R-South Louisiana) sharply criticized the silence of Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) Director Michael R. Bromwich on extending oil and gas leases adversely affected by the Obama Administration’s drilling moratorium.  Today, Director Bromwich announced the first oil and natural gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico in more than a year.

“Director Bromwich would immediately help to put Louisianans back to work by supporting the extension of oil and gas leases negatively affected by the drilling moratorium and the new excessive, cumbersome and job-killing permitting process,” Boustany said.  “The new lease sale is a small step in utilizing our domestic resources but it pales in comparison to the damage done by the drilling moratorium and the lack of certainty for energy producers and small businesses when weighing investment and hiring decisions.”

Rep. Boustany is the leading advocate in Congress for enhanced production of our domestic resources and for two key bills promoting Gulf Coast energy.  The Lease Extension and Secure Energy Act extends by one year the Gulf of Mexico leases suspended by the Obama Administration’s drilling moratorium and is a component of Congressional Republican’s American Energy Initiative to promote job creating policies and reduce energy costs.  Another key bill stops President Obama’s offshore moratorium.  The Reversing President Obama’s Offshore Moratorium Act lifts the President’s ban on new offshore drilling by requiring the Administration to move forward in the 2012-2017 lease plan with energy production in areas containing the most oil and natural gas resources.

“The Obama Administration must take stronger steps to put our domestic energy producers back to work,”Boustany said.  “They have failed to articulate and support a comprehensive energy policy.  These actions continue to hinder domestic energy production because of a simplistic and damaging belief that ‘green energy’ will fuel America’s vast need for oil and gas.”

Measures in the American Energy Initiative include:

TheCutting Red Tape to Facilitate Renewable Energy Act(H.R. 2170) to accelerate the development of clean, renewable energy projects on federal lands by streamlining and simplifying government regulations, while still ensuring thorough environmental reviews.

The National Petroleum Reserve Alaska Access Act (H.R. 2150) to cut through bureaucratic red tape and unlock the full potential of energy resources in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) by ensuring that oil and natural gas are developed and transported in a timely and efficient manner.

The National Strategic and Critical Minerals Policy Act of 2011 (H.R. 2011) to help strengthen and improve our national mineral policy by requiring a government-wide survey of American mineral resources, demands and factors impacting mineral development.

The Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act (H.R. 1230) to require the Obama Administration to move forward promptly and conduct offshore lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and offshore Virginia that the Obama Administration has delayed or canceled.

The Putting the Gulf Back to Work Act (H.R. 1229) would end the Obama Administration’s de facto moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico in a safe, responsible, transparent manner by setting firm time-lines for considering permits to drill, which provide certainty and allow employers and workers to get back on the job.