December 1, 2010

Vitter Blasts Administration Drilling Ban in Eastern Gulf, Along Atlantic Coast

(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Sen. David Vitter today sharply criticized the Obama administration’s decision to prohibit new offshore drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic coast for at least the next seven years.

“This alarming announcement is further proof that this administration doesn’t know the first thing about creating jobs,” said Vitter. “Cutting off access to American resources from American businesses will only send more of our money and jobs overseas while we watch energy prices continue to rise. As they’ve demonstrated with the de facto moratorium on offshore drilling in the Gulf, this administration will stop at nothing to advance its agenda to reduce – or even completely end – offshore drilling everywhere.”

For months, Vitter has criticized the administration’s approach to offshore drilling, including the initial moratorium on drilling and the subsequent de facto moratorium resulting from an extremely slow permitting process. He also requested an Inspector General’s report, which last month revealed that, in an effort to justify the moratorium, the administration manipulated a report to inaccurately represent the views of a team of scientists assembled by the National Academy of Engineering.

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