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NEW POLL…Obama Administration Says ‘No’ to More Offshore Drilling—Nearly Three-quarters of America Disagrees

| Posted in Press Release

House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) released the following statement after a new Rasmussen poll shows 72 percent of Americans support offshore drilling. “With a new poll showing 72 percent support for offshore drilling, it’s clear that President Obama's new plan to lockup the vast majority of the Outer Continental Shelf from future energy production is…

Ranking Member Hastings’ Statement on March Job Numbers

| Posted in Press Release

House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) released the following statement after the Department of Labor announced the economy gained 162,000 jobs in March as unemployment remained at 9.7 percent. “Considering our current economy, we should welcome any job growth that we can get. However, we should not confuse temporary jobs, such as 48,000 jobs accounted for…

A Year of Obama’s No-Energy Policies: Higher Prices, Less American Production, Increased Dependence on Foreign Sources, Fewer U.S. Jobs

| Posted in Resourceful Information

In light of yesterday’s disingenuous announcement by the Obama Administration on future Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas production, it is important to remember the history of anti-energy policies displayed by this Administration since nearly day one. The following is a timeline of the major announcements and energy policy backslides of the Obama Administration: …

Facts & Maps on Obama Administration’s Plan to Lock Up the OCS

| Posted in Resourceful Information

President Obama did not open new lands to offshore drilling – all of these areas were already open for drilling once Congress and President Bush lifted the moratorium in 2008. Instead, President Obama yesterday announced what areas he would CLOSE to offshore drilling (see maps below). Under the President’s Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) plan, over 360 million acres are now…

Republicans on the House Natural Resources Committee Aren’t Hoodwinked by the Administration’s Faux-OCS Plan

| Posted in Blog

Yesterday, House Natural Resources Committee Republicans responded to President Obama’s announcement of a new plan for Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas exploration, which will lockup the majority of our offshore for future energy production. “With this announcement, the Obama Administration is attempting to pull the wool over our eyes. President Obama’s rhetoric conveys support…

Wall Street Journal Editorial: Drilling Bits: Less new oil exploration than meets the eye

| Posted in In Case You Missed It

Drilling Bits: Less new oil exploration than meets the eye April 1, 2010 Wall Street Journal Editorial Fourteen months into the Obama Presidency, we are grateful for small favors. So we suppose we should cheer the White House announcement yesterday that it is allowing new offshore oil and gas drilling. But this really is a smaller favor than the headlines claim. The President…

Hastings Disapproves of Interior Department’s Settlement of ‘Categorical Exclusions’ Lawsuit

| Posted in Press Release

House Natural Resource Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) released the following statement after learning of the out of court settlement agreed to by the Bureau of Land Management regarding the use of “categorical exclusions” for new oil and gas leases as defined by Section 390 in the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 2005. Hastings had previously sent a letter to the Interior…

Obama Administration Places Vast Majority of OCS Off Limits

| Posted in Press Release

Although President Obama today announced what he called the “expansion of offshore oil and gas exploration,” in reality the President LOCKED UP more land to American energy production - as shown on the maps below. Click to enlarge map Under the Presidential and Congressional Moratoria in place from 1981 through September 2008, all of the Atlantic and the majority of the Pacific…

Hastings’ Statement on Corps of Engineers Release of Outline on How to Study Snake River Dam Removal

| Posted in Press Release

Following is a statement from Congressman Doc Hastings (WA-04) on the Snake River dam removal “study plan” prepared and released today by Army Corps of Engineers at the direction of the Obama Administration. Hastings is an outspoken defender of the Northwest’s hydropower dams as clean, renewable sources of low-cost energy. Hastings serves as the top Republican on the House Natural…

As gas prices rise, President blocks energy production and job creation in vast majority of America’s offshore areas

| Posted in Press Release

House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) released the following statement regarding President Obama’s announcement that his Administration will delay a new offshore drilling plan until 2012 and include only a fraction of offshore land that was available under the 2010-2015 lease plan: “With this announcement, the Obama Administration is attempting to pull the…