The Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act (H.R. 1229) and the Reversing President Obama's Offshore Moratorium Act (H.R. 1231)

Floor Speech

* Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, last week the majority rammed through an ill-advised measure requiring the sale of four specific offshore drilling leases even if appropriate workplace and environmental safeguards aren't in place. This week's bills continue the same reckless ``pre-spill'' mentality. In the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon tragedy, more drilling with less safety is simply not a responsible energy policy, and it will do nothing to enhance America's energy security.

* Let's be clear: There is no drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico. Since October, the Interior Department has issued 51 shallow water permits and 12 deepwater drilling permits--or roughly the same pace as before the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The major difference is that the Obama Administration is ensuring that future drilling be accompanied by safeguards reflecting the lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon.

* The so-called ``Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back To Work Act'' would deem drilling permits approved after sixty days with or without a completed safety and environmental review. While the intent of H.R. 1229 is to clearly to expedite permitting, the reality is that this kind of ``drill first, ask questions later'' approach could easily result in fewer drilling permits being issued as the Interior Department could in many cases simply be forced to reject permits that are still in process rather than having them ``deem approved'' without adequate safeguards in place.

* H.R. 1231 proposes to expand the scope of this initiative's overarching recklessness by opening much of the outer continental shelf on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to drilling before Congress has enacted a single legislative reform to improve safety. Lost in all of the rhetoric is the reality that oil and gas companies are already today sitting on more than 60 million acres of public lands with an estimated 11.6 billion barrels of oil and 59.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas that have yet to be developed--or nearly as much oil and natural gas as could realistically be recovered by drilling up and down the east and west coasts.

* Mr. Speaker, this country deserves better than carelessness masquerading as an energy policy. We need to end the billions in wasteful subsidies for the already highly profitable oil and gas industry and accelerate the development and deployment of clean energy alternatives that will power the 21st century.

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