FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 10, 2009
CONTACT:
Laura Henderson (202) 621-2951
IER: Now is Not the Time to Delay New Jobs, New Revenue
WASHINGTON – Institute for Energy Research (IER) president Thomas J. Pyle issued the following statement today after Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced his decision to delay the American people’s ability to develop their own energy resources:
“Less than 24 hours ago, the president urged Americans to support his plan to spend over $700 billion in taxpayer dollars to fight our economic downturn. Meanwhile, the Department of Interior this afternoon added unnecessary government red tape that will delay an opportunity to use our vast, domestic energy resources to bring new jobs and billions of dollars in new revenue to this nation.
“Though our economy is in a free-fall and millions of Americans are out of work, the Obama Administration prefers to spend money we don’t have and ignore the resources we do. We are headed down a path that empowers government planners to decide how much energy Americans are allowed to use, and how much they will pay for it. Regrettably, what they fail to realize is that access to affordable energy represents the best and most direct path out of this economic mess.”
To join IER and the more than 6,500 Americans who have already sent their comments in telling the Administration that Americans need access to their offshore energy resources, click here and send your comment to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS). MMS is currently in the process of updating its five-year leasing plan, which could allow future exploration of 31 planning areas offshore, the first time in more than 25 years that many of these energy-rich tracts have been considered.
NOTE: This comes on the heels of Secretary Salazar’s decision last week to cancel legal energy leases in Utah—leases supported by local Utahans who want jobs and affordable energy. Americans may begin to wonder why this Administration is against affordable American energy supplies and the quality jobs that produce them.
The Institute for Energy Research (IER) is a not-for-profit organization that conducts intensive research and analysis on the functions, operations, and government regulation of global energy markets. IER maintains that freely-functioning energy markets provide the most efficient and effective solutions to today’s global energy and environmental challenges and, as such, are critical to the well-being of individuals and society.
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www.InstituteforEnergyResearch.org
