Oil and Gas Exploration?

Statement

Last week, the Department of Interior released a new Five Year Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017, which unfortunately does not permit energy exploration off of the East Coast of the United States, including Virginia. This is a real missed opportunity. The Virginia legislature has long advocated for allowing Virginia to move forward on exploration. Developing energy resources located off the Commonwealth's coast can help lower energy prices, increase our energy security, and create good paying jobs for Virginians. More barriers to production from the Obama Administration will not help get Virginians back to work and will not help lower the cost of heating our homes. The proposal will be open for a public comment period before a final version is submitted to the President and Congress. I encourage people to submit their comments by visiting www.regulations.gov.

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