Blog: Increasing Energy Supply

Posted by John McHugh on 07/15/2008 

Yesterday, the President took the important step of lifting the Presidential ban on the exploration of oil and gas in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), which is off the shores of the United States. The moratorium – first instituted by President George H.W. Bush in 1990 and then later extended and expanded by President Bill Clinton – was one part of the two-part restriction on drilling in the OCS. The second part is the current Congressional moratorium, which also restricts drilling far of the coast of the United States. I applaud the President for lifting the ban – I am a cosponsor of a Congressional Resolution asking him to do so – and now call on the leadership in the House and Senate to look at lifting the Congressional moratorium. The moratorium is outdated and unnecessary, particularly given rapidly rising cost of gas in the United States and the ability of US companies to extract the oil in environmentally responsible ways.

Simply put, the best first step we can do to address our current energy crisis is increase American supply, and opening up the vast oil resources we have is a necessary step. In addition to looking at oil exploration in the OCS, we should also be exploring areas such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and shale oil in the Western part of the United States. At the bear minimum, House Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi should at least be scheduling hearings to allow us to substantively discuss and debate where to increase American energy supply.