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Tell Congress: Don't Fall for Sham Drilling Bills!
Two energy proposals are working their way through each chamber of Congress and could see votes on the floor next week.
In the House of Representatives, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) brokered a plan that would permit drilling offshore, but only beyond a highly restrictive 50-mile barrier (in some cases leaving as much as 90 percent of oil resources STILL off-limits). Her package also includes tens of billions of dollars in higher taxes, even more lavish taxpayer subsidies for alternative energy, and a renewable electricity standard that will hike your utility bills even further!
In the Senate, the so-called "Gang of 10" proposal (which now has 20 sponsors) opens up only four states on the East Coast to drilling, leaving resource- and infrastructure-rich California and the West Coast PERMANENTLY inaccessible. Meanwhile, it contains $85 billion worth of taxes and spending.
Both proposals claim to be a "compromise" that will allow greater drilling activity, but both fail miserably to do so. Both would enshrine serious restrictions to drilling in permanent law, whereas simply letting the moratorium expire would free American companies to explore and get the resources to market quickly.
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Don't Fall for the Sham Drilling Proposals!
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
I urge you to oppose legislation like the Gang of 10 proposal or Speaker Nancy Pelosi's drilling "compromise" bill. Neither plan would offer the kind of broad, responsible drilling that most Americans support. Opening up only select states or drawing overly harsh buffer zones without revenue sharing for states will keep massive amounts of oil and gas under lock and key.
Meanwhile, both plans contain loads of the same harmful taxes, spending, and mandates that have failed us over the last 30 years. Congress would be better off simply allowing the offshore drilling ban to expire as scheduled at the end of September.
Instead of heaping more bad legislation onto decades of terrible energy policies by voting for these false compromises, Congress should focus on opening up reserves to reasonable development without unnecessary restrictions. I urge you to vote against these plans and support a pro-taxpayer energy policy!
Sincerely,
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Campaign Launched:
September 12, 2008
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On the House side, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) cobbled together a supposed "compromise" bill that doesn't appear to compromise on much of anything. Preliminary details suggest that the House Democrats' proposal opens up all coastal states to drilling, but only beyond a restrictive 50-mile offshore buffer that would keep upwards of 90 percent of recoverable resources off limits in some areas.
Perhaps most importantly for exploration purposes, the proposal does not include any revenue sharing for states that choose to allow offshore development. This would provide no major "opt-in" incentive for states, which are accustomed to onshore drilling and extraction agreements where revenue is split 50/50 with the federal government.
Disappointingly, the plan also includes many all-too-familiar energy policies that have failed America for the last three decades: taxes, subsidies, and mandates. It hikes taxes by billions of dollars, continues to lavish taxpayer funds on so-called "alternative" energy, and contains a renewable electricity generation requirement that will dramatically raise utility costs. Meanwhile, it employs gimmicks like releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and "use it or lose it" language for existing leases.
For its part, the Senate came up with a different non-compromise compromise bill. The "Gang of 10" proposal pays mere lip service to off-shore drilling while rehashing the counterproductive policies of subsidizing politically favored industries and punishing others with tax hikes – ultimately raising prices for consumers.
It allows for extremely limited domestic energy exploration, but appears to cement the now-temporary off-shore drilling ban permanently into statutory law, while only allowing four states – Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia – to opt for more development. It would also open up additional areas of the eastern Gulf of Mexico for energy cultivation, but nothing on the resource-rich West Coast and nothing within a 50-mile "buffer zone" off the four states' shores, thereby denying Americans the benefit of substantial resources.
The Gang of 10 also proposes subsidies for so-called "alternative energy" programs such as biofuels, further mandates for the use of "cleaner-burning vehicles," and punitive tax hikes on domestic oil and gas companies precisely when America needs more production – not less.
Finally, it would cost an estimated $85 billion - $30 billion of which would be "offset" by tax hikes on the oil and gas industry. The source of funding for the remaining $55 billion has yet to be determined, but will likely take the form of tax hikes elsewhere that will only further harm the American economy and family budgets.
These plans aren't even half-hearted attempts at more drilling, they're quarter-hearted attempts attached to loads of taxes and spending!
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