Key Vote Alert - H.R. 6515, the "Drill Responsibly in Leased Lands Act of 2008"

Good Thoughts on a Bad Bill

by Brad Peck

Earlier today we posted a key vote letter outlining our opposition to H.R. 6515, the "Drill Responsibly in Leased Lands Act of 2008". Here are what some others have to say:

From "How to Stifle Oil Exploration with Misdirection and a Smile" at American Sentinel:

As is typical, Congress wants to make a show of working on the energy crisis without actually addressing it. The bill H.R. 6515, also known as the ‘Drill Responsibly in Leased Lands Act of 2008’, was introduced yesterday and will be coming up for debate soon. Undoubtedly it will be hailed as a sort of landmark moment when the bill gets pushed through.
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And then the energy crisis goes on as usual and continues to worsen. How could this be possible? Simple. The bill is useless.

Section 5 is merely a gift to the labor unions and a strike against the freedom to work and employ as you see fit...Section 6 places an absolute ban on exporting Alaskan oil, which we don’t do anyway. Putting it on paper, however, will only make it a point of contention in many future trade agreements. It is a short-sighted, feel-good act of isolationism that will backfire.
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Section 7, the “Use it or Lose It” portion of the bill, is a harsher version of what is already out there. Both onshore and offshore leases already have time limits for production–bet you haven’t heard that lately. Frequently, these limits can be difficult to meet because of–get ready for the shock–bureaucratic red tape. Then, as you are performing a Houdiniesque escape from the red tape, you have to find the oil, build platforms and other infrastructure, find qualified workers, etc. There is every possibility that Section 7 will actually decrease incentive for oil producers by placing them further under the gun and forcing them to risk from millions to billions of dollars building infrastructure only to have their leases pulled before they can complete the job and reap any benefits.

From "A Sham Energy Bill" at Townhall

SHAM 1
It once again brings back the “Use it or Lose it” idea that was defeated a few weeks back by a bipartisan coalition because of its worthlessness. The 68 million acres that the Democrats say are in need of “use” are, in fact, being used. They are in some stage of exploration right now but are caught up in a bureaucratic maze of approval. As far as the “lose it” portion of the proposal, energy companies are already required to utilize acquired leases within a five to ten year period or the Interior Department Secretary has the right to revoke the lease.

SHAM 2
It says we can’t export oil from Alaska. Not a bad idea, but the problem is we haven’t done that for the past 10 years.

SHAM 3
It "opens up" land to drilling in Alaska. While they’re on the right track, if they really cared about opening up land for drilling, they’d do so in ANWR and not in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPRA) that has (1) already been open for 25 years, (2) is 250 miles away from the nearest pipeline, and (3) isn’t all that serviceable in that it only has 53 workable days a year of thaw.
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Just yesterday, at a Financial Services Committee hearing, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stated "…a 1 percent increase in supply could lower prices by 10 percent."

Enough smoke and mirrors.

I think The Lonely Conservative sums it up quite nicely:

The cost of natural gas is expected to double this winter over last year's price. The cost of a gallon of gas is now over $4.00. Prices of everything are now going up. People are losing their jobs. The last thing we need is Congress passing another inane law that will drive energy costs up even further while doing nothing to increase domestic production.

We are supposed to have "representative government". Something is terribly wrong when the American people overwhelmingly support legislation to open up more federal lands for drilling and Congress ignores our wishes. Is it any wonder their approval rating is so low?

Note from Monkey in the Middle:

It is the duty and responsibility of our government to ensure that our economy works. With gas prices so high, it is irresponsible for them to languish over this and all energy bills.

While drilling today will not immediately bring down the cost of a gallon of gas, it will help in the future months.

Write to your representative today saying you want America to drill off-shore for the resources we need to keep our economy growing.