[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 151 (Thursday, November 18, 2010)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8048-S8049]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                           EXECUTIVE CALENDAR

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate 
proceed to executive session to consider Calendar No. 1118, the 
nomination of Jack Lew to be Director of the Office of Management and 
Budget, and that the nomination be confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection? Without objection, it is 
so ordered.
  The nomination considered and confirmed is as follows:


                   EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

       Jacob J. Lew, of New York, to be Director of the Office of 
     Management and Budget.

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, we have been working for several days--
actually longer--trying to work things out on the situation involving 
the State of Louisiana. The State of Louisiana has struggled. They had 
the hurricane. The economic situation in Louisiana was going very well 
when the BP oilspill occurred. As a result, action taken by the 
administration, and other situations that developed, have hurt 
significantly the economic viability of the State of Louisiana.
  The Senator from Louisiana has worked tirelessly to get the work 
going again in the shallow water off the coast of Louisiana. She will 
be able to speak on the record better than I can--and I have been in 
some of the negotiations--the progress she has made regarding that. Not 
only has the administration stepped forward but industries have stepped 
forward.
  I ask unanimous consent that the Senator from Louisiana be recognized 
to make a statement on the matter regarding Jack Lew.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, I thank the majority leader. His day has 
been much busier than mine, but both of our days have been filled with 
quite a few matters before us.
  The vote that will take place in the Senate would not have taken 
place without my acquiescence. I thought it was important to speak 
briefly on my hold on Jack Lew.
  Jack Lew is a terrific nominee, and he has the support of many people 
in this body for his new position, and we are grateful to him for 
wanting to be the budget director for a country that has serious 
economic challenges. We are very grateful.
  As you know, we have extremely serious economic challenges right now 
in the Gulf of Mexico. It has been 5 years since Katrina. Three weeks 
later, we had Rita, and then Gustav and Ike--four of the toughest 
storms the gulf coast has faced. Then a few years later, we had an 
oilspill, with more than 5 million barrels of oil spilled in the gulf, 
which was bad enough. But then this administration placed a hold--or a 
moratorium, if you will--on an entire industry because of that 
accident. It was a horrible accident, but I think to place a moratorium 
on an entire industry because one company and its contractors made some 
serious and terrible mistakes is really unprecedented, it is unwise, 
and it is extremely harmful to the gulf coast.
  I tried many things over the last several months to call attention to 
this matter. I called several hearings in Louisiana, several hearings 
here in Washington, and I sent several letters, set up several 
meetings, and nothing seemed to be getting through to this 
administration about the catastrophe they were causing along the gulf 
coast. So I put this hold on a nominee. It was, in many ways, 
unprecedented. I didn't know that when I did it. I was told later that 
it had never been done on a budget director. I figured it would get 
their attention, and I think it has.
  I have had three meetings in the last 24 hours with the Secretary 
himself. We have talked through some of these issues in a way that I 
think we can make progress. In the last week, there have been two 
permits issued. I am told there will be additional permits issued in 
the next few days. The Secretary has also committed to me that he 
himself will be in the gulf coast--in Louisiana, actually--on Monday, 
expressing his commitment, and in no uncertain terms, to the future 
robustness of this industry.
  Mr. President, this isn't just about Louisiana and the importance to 
Louisiana. I will submit this report for the Record, ``The Economic 
Impact of the Gulf of Mexico Offshore Oil and Natural Gas Industry and 
the Role of the Independents,'' released in July of 2010. I will read 
only one figure, but it is big enough that it should capture people's 
attention. People are looking for money in this Chamber to solve our 
budget issues and bring this budget into balance. One figure I will 
cite from this report is that the independents--not big oil--I am not 
talking about Chevron, Shell, or BP; I am talking about independent oil 
and gas operators that are sidelined because of this policy by the 
administration--independents will bring in more than $147 billion in 
Federal, State, and local revenue in the next 10 years. So the stakes 
are very high, which is why I took the action I did and why today I 
have released the hold, because notable progress has been made, permits 
have been issued, and the Secretary has committed, on Monday, to be in 
the State to give a path forward for this industry.
  I am convinced that, at this moment, that was the right thing to do 
for the country and the gulf coast. But we have more progress that 
needs to be made. This industry is a valuable, critical, important 
industry to this Nation. It has been for over 100 years, and it will be 
for the next 100 years. We have to realize the importance of producing 
oil and gas here at home. Yes, it was a terrible accident. Yes, we need 
to have safety and rules and regulations that are in force. But there 
has to be a way to accomplish that without shutting down the entire 
industry and putting hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk. Again, this 
isn't about big oil specifically; it is about contractors and small 
businesses all along the gulf coast and throughout the United States.
  I appreciate the Secretary's commitment, his renewed focus, and his 
understanding of the urgency of the situation. I thank my colleagues, 
many of whom were supportive of this action, as we have worked through 
these last 6 weeks. I appreciate the courtesy of the majority leader.
  I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record ``How Big an 
Impact?'' from the study ``The Economic Impact of the Gulf of Mexico 
Offshore Oil and Natural Gas Industry and the Role of the 
Independents'' done by IHS Global Insight (USA), Inc., dated July 21, 
2010.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

[[Page S8049]]

                           How Big an Impact?

       In this study, we analyze the economic contribution of the 
     independents and potential loss as a result of policies that 
     effectively prevent them from participating in future 
     development in the offshore Gulf of Mexico and, in 
     particular, in the deepwater. Our analysis for the 2009-20 
     forecast period indicates that the exclusion of the 
     independents from the offshore GOM would mean:
       The following lost jobs in the four-state Gulf region 
     (Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas)--direct, 
     indirect, and induced: 2009--202,502; 2015--289,716; 2020--
     300,974.
       Additionally, 40,777 construction-related jobs would be 
     lost in the four-state Gulf region during 2009-20. This 
     activity includes construction of rigs, platforms, pipelines, 
     and production facilities.
       The following lost taxes and royalties to the federal 
     government: 2009--$7.34 billion; 2015--$10.13 billion; 2020--
     9.98 billion.
       The following lost state and local tax revenues in the 
     four-state Gulf region: 2009--$3.18 billion; 2015--$4.59 
     billion; 2020--$4.68 billion.
       Altogether, more than $147 billion in federal, state, and 
     local revenues would be lost in a 10-year period if 
     independents are excluded from the Gulf of Mexico. These 
     estimates only include revenues collected from the four-state 
     Gulf region.
       Within the deepwater, the exclusion of the independents 
     would mean:
       The following lost jobs in the four-state Gulf region--
     direct, indirect, and induced: 2009--121,298; 2015--230,241; 
     2020 -- 265,113.
       The following lost taxes and royalties to the federal 
     government: 2009--$3.64 billion; 2015--$726 billion; 2020--
     $8.33 billion.
       The following lost state and local tax revenues in the 
     four-state Gulf region: 2009--$1.63 billion; 2015--$3.35 
     billion; 2020--$3.94 billion.
       Altogether, more than $106 billion in federal, state, and 
     local revenues would be lost in a 10-year period if 
     independents are excluded from the deepwater.
       Overall, the exclusion of the independents would 
     significantly shrink offshore oil and gas activity, reduce 
     the dynamism of the industry, and dilute U.S. technological 
     and industry leadership.
       The reason for all these effects is that independents 
     represent a much larger share of total activity than is 
     generally recognized. Independent producers are an integral 
     part of shelf, as well as deepwater, drilling and discovery.
       Independents are the largest shareholder in 66% of the 
     7,521 leases in the entire Gulf of Mexico and in 81% of the 
     producing leases.
       In the deepwater portion of the Gulf of Mexico, 
     independents are the largest shareholder in 52% of all leases 
     and in 46% of the producing leases. They operate over half of 
     the developing and producing deepwater fields.
       Independents have drilled 1,298 wells in the deepwater, and 
     they currently account for over 900,000 barrels a day of oil 
     equivalent (oil and natural gas together).
       Independents are responsible for an average of 70% of the 
     ``farm-ins'': the partnerships formed following the original 
     lease agreement that enable prospects to be drilled and oil 
     and gas produced.

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the motion to 
reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table; that any 
statements relating to the nomination be printed in the Record as if 
read; that the President be immediately notified of the Senate's action 
and the Senate resume legislative session.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________