[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 95 (Friday, June 28, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1004]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      OFFSHORE ENERGY AND JOBS ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. SANDER M. LEVIN

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 27, 2013

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2231) to 
     amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to increase 
     energy exploration and production on the Outer Continental 
     Shelf, provide for equitable revenue sharing for all coastal 
     States, implement the reorganization of the functions of the 
     former Minerals Management Service into distinct and separate 
     agencies, and for other purposes:

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Chair, I strongly oppose the offshore drilling bill 
before the House. Sadly, this legislation is representative of the 
unbalanced, partisan, and ultimately self-defeating approach that the 
Republican Majority has taken on energy issues.
  H.R. 2231 would mandate lease sales along the east and west coasts 
and elsewhere with inadequate environmental review and scant attention 
given to local concerns. In total, leasing would be mandated off the 
coasts of 14 states, whether they want it or not. If this heavy-handed 
giveaway to the oil industry seems familiar, that's because it is. Last 
July, the Republican leadership brought a nearly identical bill before 
the House. That bill never advanced beyond the House, and this drilling 
bill won't either. The Senate won't take it up. The President has said 
he'd veto it, so other than demonstrating the Majority's fealty to Big 
Oil, why are we again wasting the House's time on this?
  We're told that this bill is about making the U.S. more energy 
independent. Let the record show that domestic energy production is 
booming under the current Administration's policies. In 2012, American 
oil production reached a 20-year high. Natural gas production is at an 
all-time high. The U.S. is expected to surpass Saudi Arabia as the 
world's top oil producer within seven years.
  We're also told that this bill is all about driving down gas prices 
for American families. What guarantee do we have that the oil and gas 
production mandated by this legislation would actually stay in the 
United States? Over the last decade, U.S. exports of petroleum products 
like gasoline and diesel fuel have nearly tripled. Every day U.S. 
refineries export millions of gallons of refined petroleum products, 
including gasoline and diesel. This is no doubt good for the petroleum 
industry's bottom line, but it's hard to argue that it helps consumers 
at the pump.
  At the end of the day, the country needs an all-the-above energy 
strategy, including responsible oil and gas development, increased 
energy efficiency, support for renewable energy, and investment in 
advanced energy research and development. Unfortunately, the House 
Majority remained locked in an oil-above-all policy. The oil drilling 
bill before the House deserves to be defeated.

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