Hearing of the House Natural Resources Committee - "One Year after President Obama's Gulf of Mexico 6-Month Moratorium Officially Lifted: Examining the Lingering Impacts on Jobs, Energy Production and Local Economies"

Statement

U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Member Jeff Landry (R, LA-03) issued the following opening statement at today's Full Committee hearing on "One Year after President Obama's Gulf of Mexico 6-Month Moratorium Officially Lifted: Examining the Lingering Impacts on Jobs, Energy Production and Local Economies":

"Thank you Chairman Hastings and Ranking Member Markey for holding this hearing on what I believe should be a joyous anniversary. 365 days ago, the President lifted the drilling moratorium in place following the Deepwater Horizon accident. Unfortunately, 364 days ago, this Administration put in place a de facto moratorium on offshore drilling, leaving this Committee to deal with the resulting false promises, job losses, and web of regulation weaved all the more complex.

All this has done little to enhance our domestic energy production or help our unemployment problem. 11 rigs have left the Gulf of Mexico. 3 rigs are currently sitting idle. While 14 rigs might not seem like a lot, they result in 11,500 jobs lost and $6.3 billion spending lost.

Furthermore, the current de facto moratorium stifles shallow-water operations that were not to be affected by the original deep-water moratorium. Reports indicate that new shallow-water permit issuance is 80% lower than historical averages. As a result, we have seen jobs go overseas and our neighbors in the unemployment lines.

If the Administration were proactive in the permitting process -- 230,000 American jobs would be created, nearly $12 billion would be raised in tax and royalty revenues for the government, and more than $44 billion will be added to our gross domestic product in just 2012 alone. And permanently lifting the offshore moratoria would result in 1.2 million U.S. jobs, $8 trillion in additional economic output (GDP), $2.2 trillion in total tax receipts, and $70 billion in additional wages each year.

While the Administration has done all they can to destroy oil and gas jobs in Louisiana, they have also fallen short of helping restore health to our seafood industry. What has the Administration done to hold BP accountable for Feinberg who has been reluctant in issuing claims to our shrimpers and fishermen? Instead, the Administration forgets that both the seafood industry and the offshore oil and gas industry have thrived together for decades and struggles to find ways they can work together again.

Chairman, again, I am glad we are having this hearing so we can conceptualize what the Obama Administration has done to our economy in South Louisiana. We all need to realize the value that oil and gas development can add to our economy and how we can apply the lessons we've learned from that frightful day in April. We should not keep the hardworking people of South Louisiana from making a living, providing for their families, and capitalizing on their expertise for the benefit of the entire country. Hopefully, this hearing will shed light on these areas where the Administration has been shortsighted -- and we can get the Gulf of Mexico up and running again."

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