Congress Should Hear Urgent Energy Pleas
Congress has plenty of unfinished business on its hands with a limited time to get it done, but all the rest is overshadowed by the problem of ballooning gasoline prices steadily stretching most American household budgets.
Only one feasible action has been identified that Washington can take to provide reasonable hope for a turnaround. That is to open the way for a significant boost in domestic oil production by removing drilling bans from huge United States territories, where there are promising oil and gas reserves.
A growing majority of Americans are convinced such action is needed now and President George W. Bush took a significant step by lifting an executive ban on offshore oil drilling and challenging Congress to follow suit. Resistance to the move continues to center around Democratic leadership in the House and Senate. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the Bush plan “a hoax.”
Determined efforts to block new oil and gas exploration are about the only visible energy policy Pelosi and company offer. The real hoax is the idea that doing nothing is better. And it is only politicians, not energy experts, who say it would take 10 years for expanded drilling to help. No other “solution” yet identified would do even that, and looking ahead 10 years is not extreme “long-range” planning.
Bush’s positive step removing the executive ban on offshore oil drilling still needs action from Congress to become effective. But it could help build public momentum to persuade reluctant members of Congress they need to act positively on the issue for the good of the country, and their own job security.
A vast portion of America’s offshore areas are off-limits to energy production. Beginning in 1982, Congress restricted more and more offshore areas through annual appropriations for the Department of Interior, which has authority over the Outer Continental Shelf. Through this annual process, Congress has denied DOI funding necessary to conduct leasing of new offshore areas to oil and natural gas companies.
These off-limits areas comprise 85 percent of the OCS, almost everywhere except the central and western Gulf of Mexico. And even in some cases where leases have been granted on these areas, the leaseholders are not allowed to actually produce oil and gas.
Bush may be getting increasing help in trying to spread word to Americans of the need for more domestic oil and gas development and the importance of prompt action by Congress to open the door.
Some national figures have endorsed an “Energy Independence Days” initiative launched by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas to highlight the need for real solutions to the nation’s energy problems.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Texas Railroad Commissioner Elizabeth Ames Jones are joining Cornyn on his Web site to discuss the need to produce more domestic energy and reduce our reliance on foreign sources.
“President Bush lifted the executive ban on offshore exploration, now Congress has to do its part and act to make these resources available,” Cornyn said. “More American energy will reduce gas prices in the short term, expand Texas job opportunities and provide us long-term energy security.”
He said he hopes Energy Independence Days “will help send the message that the American people want the Democratic-led Congress to get serious about real solutions.”
Most who oppose a drilling expansion have no plan, or propose counterproductive ideas such as taxing American energy companies, Cornyn noted. Alternative fuels are the energy hope for the future, but their development is largely in the formative stages and highly uncertain. Conservation also has an important place in a successful energy policy.
Opening new areas for domestic drilling would not mean efforts to conserve and develop alternative fuels would be stopped or even de-emphasized. The urgency of such efforts is widely embraced.
Nuclear, clean coal, wind, solar and shale are other energy sources the nation should pursue, and all are needed. Making the change from over-reliance on fossil fuels will take considerable time, at best, so striving for the ultimate in domestic oil and gas production is essential for Americans to come close to maintaining their recent living standards.
Many Americans have awakened to that truth in recent weeks, public opinion surveys show. It is time for Congress to hear the wake-up call, too.
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