Investor's Business Daily: U.S. Needs To Develop All Its Energy Resources

By Rep. Michele Bachmann

I recently had the opportunity to visit southeast Louisiana with some of my House colleagues on the 2014 Offshore Energy Tour, led by Congressman Steve Scalise, R-La.

While there, we met with stakeholders from energy companies, toured an offshore production platform and visited Port Fourchon, the land base for the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, which plays a strategic role in providing 18% to 20% of America's entire oil and gas supply.

What we saw in Louisiana was only a small view into an overwhelmingly positive trend across America: the increase of private-sector domestic energy production to create jobs and economic growth.

It is no coincidence that the three cities with the lowest unemployment rate in the country — Midland, Texas; Bismarck, N.D.; and Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, La. — all have close ties to the energy industry.

The three states as a whole have also taken serious steps in utilizing their abundant natural resources, resulting in booming growth and high-paying jobs.

In Texas, oil and gas companies provided more than 2 million jobs, with average worker salaries being double the state average for private sector work.

In North Dakota, thanks to a thriving energy industry, the unemployment rate is at 2.6%, the lowest in the entire country.

In Louisiana, more than 400,000 jobs, or one-third of the state's economy, are supported by the oil and gas industry.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that while the growth of new jobs in America as a whole from 2003 to 2012 was 3%, new jobs in the oil and gas industry increased by 92%.

All these advancements have happened in spite of — not because of — federal energy policy.

In his State of the Union address this year, President Obama touted his "energy strategy" as the reason more "oil (is) produced at home than we buy from the rest of the world" and contended that we are closer to energy independence than we've been in decades.

But throughout his time in the White House, the president and his administration have done everything in their power to limit the energy production gains for which they try to take credit.

According to the Congressional Research Service, oil and gas production on federal lands has plummeted since 2009 — falling by 11% and 28%, respectively.

Meanwhile, 85% of the Outer Continental Shelf remains off-limits for responsible energy exploration. According to one study, providing access to the Atlantic's offshore oil and gas resources would create 280,000 jobs, generate $24 billion per year in economic growth and produce 1.3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day over the next two decades.

The Obama administration also continues to obstruct construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, despite its strong bipartisan support.
The amount of crude oil we could reliably import from Canada through this clean, safe and cost-efficient pipeline would create tens of thousands of jobs and slash our reliance on unstable and often hostile OPEC countries, such as Venezuela.

Failure to maximize America's full energy potential not only hurts our economic security, but also our national security.

Look no further than Vladimir Putin's aggression and the energy dominance Russia holds in the region, supplying over 50% of Ukraine's natural gas and 30% of Europe's natural gas.

While Putin lines his pocketbooks, the U.S. Energy Department has approved only six liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects since 2011.

Unless America increases our LNG exports, Russia's neighbors will have few alternatives for their energy needs.

The Obama administration has run out of excuses to delay affordable American energy production. As time goes on, the technological innovations continue getting safer, cleaner and more efficient.

It's time for an all-of-the-above energy strategy that legalizes greater onshore and offshore production.

Instead of paying lip service to this strategy, President Obama should send a clear signal of support by visiting states like Texas, North Dakota, and Louisiana to see firsthand all they have to offer.

• Bachmann represents Minnesota's 6th District as congresswoman and is a member of the House Intelligence Committee.

This column originally appeared in Investor's Business Daily on May 22, 2014. Click here to view the original.