The Obama administration’s first attempt to impose a moratorium on offshore energy exploration was opposed by the White House’s own panel of experts and has been invalidated by two separate federal courts. Today, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar reportedly plans to announce yet another job-killing moratorium to curtail exploration for domestic oil and gas in U.S. waters. Congressman Tom Price (R-GA) issued the following statement in response.

“Americans want leaders who respond to crises with competence, not stubborn opportunism,” said Congressman Price. “President Obama’s moratorium will inflict terrible harm on the people whose livelihoods rely on the production of American-made energy while doing nothing to accelerate the cleanup of the oil spill. The Administration’s sluggish response to this tragedy and its refusal to cut the red tape that has hampered cleanup efforts do not justify imposing job-killing ideological policies.

“The Gulf region is already suffering both economically and environmentally from the effects of this disastrous oil spill. Taking jobs away from Gulf state residents in the energy sector will only compound the economic devastation. This moratorium is a politically convenient distraction that happens to be destroying thousands of jobs. Right now, the focus should be on cleaning up the spill and helping the Gulf region recover.”