Research Briefing

What Obama Calls “Expansion” Of Offshore Drilling Is Actually An “Obama Moratorium” On Domestic Energy Production

FLASHBACK – OBAMA ON OFFSHORE DRILLING IN 2008: “Believe Me, If I Thought There Was Any Evidence At All That Drilling Could Save People Money Who Are Struggling To Fill Up Their Gas Tanks By This Summer Or This Year, Or Even The Next Few Years, I Would Consider It, But It Won’t.” (Sen. Barack Obama, News Conference, Jacksonville, Florida, 6/20/08)

OBAMA’S “EXPANSION” OF OFFSHORE DRILLING

ACTUALLY A NEW JOB-KILLING MORATORIUM ON DOMESTIC ENERGY PRODUCTION …

Obama Claims His New Plan Is An “Expansion Of Offshore Oil And Gas Exploration” That Will Provide “Vital Energy Sources To Maintain Our Economic Growth And Our Security.” “So today we’re announcing the expansion of offshore oil and gas exploration … the answer is not, also, for us to ignore the fact that we are going to need vital energy sources to maintain our economic growth and our security.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks On Energy Security, Andrews Air Force Base, 3/31/10)

But Obama Plan Scraps Current Domestic Energy Development Plan That Would Have Started This Year. “The Obama administration will announce its plans for coastal oil and gas drilling leases by the end of March, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Wednesday… The decision to go with sequential schedules means Salazar is scrapping a Bush-era proposal for 2010 through 2015 ...” (Jennifer A. Dlouhy, “Two Plans Are On The Way For Coastal Drilling Leases,” The Houston Chronicle, 3/3/10)

And Will Delay Any Possible Domestic Energy Development To 2012. “[A]s a result of the Obama decision, the Interior Department will spend several years conducting geologic and environmental studies along the rest of the southern and central Atlantic Seaboard. If a tract is deemed suitable for development, it is listed for sale in a competitive bidding system. The next lease sales — if any are authorized by the Interior Department — would not be held before 2012.” (John Broder, “Obama’s Oil Drilling Plan Draws Critics From Both Sides,” The New York Times, 3/31/10)

Obama Is Banning Exploration On Previously Approved Domestic Energy Sites. “At the same time, the president also announced that proposed leases in Alaska’s Bristol Bay would be canceled. And the Interior Department is reversing last year’s decision to open up parts of the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. Instead, scientists would study the sites to see if they’re suitable to future leases… Obama is allowing an expansion in Alaska’s Cook Inlet to go forward. The plan also would leave in place the moratorium on drilling off the West Coast.” (“Obama Clears Way For Oil Drilling Off US Coasts,” The Associated Press, 3/31/10)

A SMOKESCREEN FOR HIS JOB-KILLING NATIONAL ENERGY TAX

Today, Obama Says His So-Called Drilling “Expansion” Part Of Agenda To “Pass Comprehensive Energy And Climate Legislation.” “[T]his announcement is part of a broader strategy that will move us from an economy that runs on fossil fuels and foreign oil to one that relies more on homegrown fuels and clean energy … I think that we can break out of the broken politics of the past when it comes to our energy policy.  I know that we can come together to pass comprehensive energy and climate legislation …” (President Barack Obama, Remarks On Energy Security, Andrews Air Force Base, 3/31/10)

Obama’s “Comprehensive” Agenda Still Includes “Cap-And-Trade” National Energy Tax. “Riding a political hot streak with health care and a new arms deal with Russia, President Obama tries to today to revive his energy agenda… The president also continues to push a ‘cap and trade’ program to restrict production of greenhouse gases. Republicans are not as crazy about either idea, saying cap and trade in particular would cripple American industry, and Obama’s energy package has been stalled in Congress.” (David Jackson, “Obama Looks To Energize His Energy Agenda,” USA Today, 3/31/10)

That Could Lead To Nearly 1 Million Jobs Lost Per Year. “Overall, a cap-and-trade system that reduces annual GDP by 0.34 percent per year can be expected to reduce U.S. employment by roughly 964,900 jobs per year ...” (Andrew Chamberlain, “Who Pays For Climate Policy,” Tax Foundation, 3/09)

OBAMA ENERGY AGENDA INCREASES DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL,

WEAKENS OUR NATIONAL SECURITY 

Today, Obama Says That His Energy Agenda Is “About Our Security” And “Our Economy.” “Some of the press may be wondering why we are announcing offshore drilling in a hangar at Andrews Air Force Base.  Well, if there’s any doubt about the leadership that our military is showing, you just need to look at this F-18 fighter and the light-armored vehicle behind me … So moving towards clean energy is about our security. It’s also about our economy.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks On Energy Security, Andrews Air Force Base, 3/31/10)

But Delaying Offshore Drilling Would Mean Buying More Oil From “Dictatorial Regimes, Many Of Which Are Hostile To U.S. Interests.” “President Bush on Monday ended a presidential ban … on drilling off the East and West coasts … every barrel of oil the U.S. produces is one less it has to buy from dictatorial regimes, many of which are hostile to U.S. interests. Every barrel added to the global supply puts downward pressure on prices, however minimal. Democrats are correct that it will take years before the first barrel of oil from East and West Coast drilling reaches the market. That, however, is a reason to end delay and get on with it.” (Editorial, “Faulty Dilemma,” The Houston Chronicle, 7/15/08)

• And Obama’s Cap-And-Trade Scheme Would Weaken America’s National Security By Threatening Military’s Ability To Purchase Fuel. “Cap-and-trade legislation - a cap on domestic growth and competitiveness - weakens our security by forcing an increase in imports and threatens our military’s ability to purchase fuel and other material from secure, affordable and reliable American suppliers. Outsourcing our defense logistical needs to foreign entities is a prescription for failure, particularly during a time of war.” (Adm. James A. Lyons, “National Security Omissions,” The Washington Times, 10/18/09)

With America Entering Season That Will Bring Higher Gas Prices, Delaying Offshore Drilling Would Be Step Back From “Becoming Energy Independent.” “Each spring brings higher gas prices and this year won't be an exception. Motorists are likely to pay more than $3 a gallon, on average, during the peak summer driving season …”; “It’s time for the U.S. to end its long-standing ban on offshore drilling. President Bush last week overturned an executive ban on such drilling … By lifting the drilling ban — the White House estimates there are billions of barrels of oil untapped off U.S. coastlines — our country would move closer to becoming energy independent and free of all of the entanglements that come with importing foreign oil from sometimes hostile places.” (“Spring To Bring Higher Gas Prices, But Not $4,” The Associated Press, 3/10/10; Editorial, “Overturn Ban On Offshore Drilling,” The Denver Post, 7/20/08)

• And Obama’s “Cap-And-Trade System” Would “Significantly Increase Gasoline Prices” And Make America “More, Not Less, Dependent On Foreign Oil.” “In addition to having drastic effects on the economy, the cap-and-trade system could significantly increase gasoline prices in the short run, perhaps as much as 60 cents per gallon... In the meantime, because of increased costs, oil production would decline making us more, not less, dependent on foreign oil.”  (Michael K. Wohlgenant, Op-Ed, “Why Cap And Trade Is A Bad Idea,” News & Record, 6/26/09)