The State of Oklahoma

Contact: Vaughn Jennings 202.225.2211

Washington, Dec 1 - Today, Congressman John Sullivan, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment, released the following statement after the Obama Administration announced plan to keep even more of our domestic energy reserves under lock and key.  Specifically, the Administration announced a new offshore drilling ban that will keep the Eastern Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic and Pacific coasts off-limits to new offshore exploration.

“The Obama Administration’s decision to continue targeting the oil and gas industry will not only increase our dependence on foreign oil, but it’s going to kill even more American jobs when we are already facing 10% unemployment.  They have completely lost sight of the fact that 30% of total U.S. production of crude oil comes from offshore – by placing these reserves under lock and key, they are essentially killing our ability to meet the growing demand for energy in the coming decades and putting America’s energy security at risk." 

“At the end of the day this is really about American energy jobs.  The oil and gas industry employs nearly 9.2 million people nationwide and over 300,000 in Oklahoma – these are jobs that will be put at risk of being eliminated or shipped overseas as a result of the Obama Administration’s anti domestic energy policies.  As I have said before, an “All of the Above” national energy policy is the only way to secure our energy future – we can’t make this goal a reality without taking advantage of the vast energy resources we have here in our own backyard.”