Washington, Tuesday, September 16, 2008 -

In response to a hastily scheduled vote today on Speaker Pelosi’s so-called “Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act,” Congressman Murphy released the following statement:

“Last night at 10:45 PM, the House Democrat Leadership filed an energy bill and quickly scheduled it for a vote today.

“Drafted behind closed doors with no bipartisan input from Members, this hodgepodge repackaging of past failed Democrat energy provisions does not end the drilling ban on the Outer Continental Shelf, but instead bans access to roughly 90 percent of the most promising and easy to produce offshore supplies; restricts exploration for oil shale in the American West and blocks oil from the Arctic coastal plain. It does not allow coal-to-liquid fuel options or clean coal technology and does not address nuclear energy sources. Not only would such provisions bring down the cost of energy, but tens of thousands of SWPA jobs are dependant on these energy sources

“The legislation also does not address lawsuit reform needed to access our oil.  In many of our oil fields, virtually 100% of the drilling is blocked by environmental lawsuits, and suits are already being filed for future drilling sites, assuring that oil cannot be accessed anywhere.

“This bill also raises taxes on electric energy for companies that cannot meet impossible to achieve new standards for wind and solar power. These taxes will most assuredly be passed onto customers as energy companies will not be able to meet these targets. 
 
“In the meantime: OPEC continues to swim in our dollars. The USA is now 70% dependent on foreign oil, and we send $700 billion of our dollars out to other countries each year for oil.

“Americans are sick and tired of the political gamesmanship in Washington; Congress has done nothing to bring down the price of energy.  After months of turning a blind eye and a 5 week summer break, here we are with a so-called “drill bill” that does not allow for drilling where we know there is oil, which is close to the coast. And while oil-rich OPEC countries build golden palace hotels and import workers to keep up with the building boom, we are watching our manufacturing jobs dry up, jobs continue to decline and our economy slump.  The bill puts at risk the security of our families, economy, jobs, and our nation.”

 
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