Sen. Murkowski Welcomes OCS Markup Next Week

Press Release

U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today was pleased by the announcement by Chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-New Mexico, that the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee would hold a markup on two pending Outer Continental Shelf bills next week.

"Improving the government's oversight of offshore energy production is something this committee has long discussed, so I welcome the decision to hold a markup next week," Murkowski said. "When considering amendments to the offshore oversight legislation, we should keep in mind that it is the states that provide the docks, roads, refineries and other infrastructure that make energy production off their coastlines possible. I believe it is time that we provide coastal states with a fair share of the revenue from oil and gas produced off their shores."

"Offshore energy exploration and production employs hundreds of thousands of people directly and millions of people indirectly. If we can improve safety standards while encouraging more offshore exploration and production, we have an opportunity to see millions of high-paying jobs created across the country, all without new government subsidies," Murkowski said.

The Outer Continental Shelf Reform Act (S. 917) seeks to amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to improve the safety of energy exploration and production operations in federal waters. The other bill is the Oil and Gas Facilitation Act (S. 916).

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