[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 48 (Thursday, March 25, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E492-E493]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     INTRODUCING THE VIRGINIA ACCESS TO ENERGY ACT (VA ENERGY ACT)

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOB GOODLATTE

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 25, 2010

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, for many years the Commonwealth of 
Virginia has seriously been considering the potential positive impact 
that Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) development off Virginia's coast 
would have on the Commonwealth. In 2008, it seemed that the 
Commonwealth would be able to make OCS development a reality when we in 
Congress, and then President George Bush, removed hurdles that had 
previously blocked access to energy resources located on the OCS. 
However, since that point, Virginia has been confronted with a series 
of regulatory road blocks. Although a lease sale has been proposed in 
Virginia's OCS, the first scheduled lease sale for energy development 
in the Atlantic, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has continued to 
postpone this Virginia lease sale. This delay is happening despite the 
strong support for the lease sale by the Virginia Congressional 
Delegation, the Governor of Virginia, the Virginia General Assembly, 
and the citizens of Virginia. Madam Speaker, the voices of Virginians 
must be heard.
  To allow the Virginia lease sale to proceed we must remove the 
regulatory road blocks that are impeding development of Virginia's OCS, 
so I rise today with a bipartisan group of members of the Virginia 
Congressional Delegation to introduce the ``Virginia Access (VA) to 
Energy Act.'' This legislation would require that the Department of the 
Interior, at the request of Virginia's governor, proceed with the 
Virginia lease sale no later than one year after passage of this 
legislation. This will remove the regulatory hurdles that have impeded 
development and create a path for Virginia to become ``the Energy 
Capital of the East Coast.''
  Passage of this legislation and development of VA's OCS will 
significantly boost the economy of the Commonwealth of Virginia. In 
fact, some estimates have shown that development of Virginia's OCS will 
create 2,578 full-time equivalent positions on an annual basis, induce 
capital investment of $7.84 billion, yield $644 million in direct and 
indirect payroll, and result in $271 million in State and local taxes. 
While exploration activities alone will infuse the Virginia economy 
with a significant amount of new capital, this legislation will also 
authorize any qualified revenues generated by the lease sales to be 
shared between the federal government and the Commonwealth of Virginia.
  Virginians understand that a major component in lessening energy 
costs is to produce more energy. I believe that Virginia should have 
every tool available to access its energy supplies, while at the same 
time creating thousands of jobs for Virginians and infusing the 
Commonwealth with new capital growth. I urge

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Congress to pass this legislation to allow Virginia to move towards a 
path of energy independence.

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