U.S. Congressman John Boozman 3rd District of Arkansas

I’m pleased to see the Obama administration moving in the direction of putting hardworking Americans back to work by lifting the drilling moratorium. This was prematurely imposed on deep-water offshore oil drilling in July and made in opposition to the recommendations of the White House’s own panel of experts after the BP oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. The decision resulted in thousands of Americans losing their job in an already strained economic climate.   

Reversing the decision does not excuse the Administration’s decision in imposing the moratorium that put the livelihood of so many Americans in jeopardy, but lifting the moratorium and resuming drilling operations will mean many of these Americans can go back to work.  

Unfortunately, President Obama, Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid unfairly targeted our energy producers with job-killing policies, after the BP oil leak. In July, I opposed legislation that unfairly imposes burdensome regulations on businesses with proven track records like Arkansas’ oil producers. 

I feel strongly that we need to use the vast oil and gas reserves we have in this country to ensure consistent gas prices and lessen our dependence on foreign, unfriendly countries who currently supply the majority of our energy needs. The best way to accomplish this is by using the natural resources our nation is blessed with, in environmentally sound ways. 

Exploration of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) helps put our country on the path to energy independence, this is why early last year I joined 69 of my colleagues in sending a letter to President Obama and Secretary Salazar at the Department of the Interior urging the OCS be allowed to remain open for oil and gas exploration.  

The more I visit with Arkansas businesses and families the more apparent it becomes that  we need an ‘all-of-the-above’ strategy, which includes more of everything: more renewable sources of energy, such as hydropower, wind, and solar, more nuclear, more conservation, and more environmentally-responsible development of America’s energy resources. I have supported this legislation in the past and will continue to do so.