Today, House Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Doc Hastings (WA-04) released the following statement after joining former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, president of the Institute of Energy Research Tom Pyle, and other Members of Congress in a press conference to highlight the one-year anniversary of President Bush lifting the presidential moratorium on offshore drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS):

“As Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee, I realize how much potential our country holds for domestic energy production. But unfortunately, today, we are here to mark a year of lost American energy and job potential – simply because the Obama Administration has actively discouraged oil and gas development in our country.

When President Bush lifted the ban on offshore drilling on America’s Outer Continental Shelf a year ago, it was good news for America because the OCS would provide 1.2 million new jobs and $70 billion in additional wages each year.

Unfortunately, a year later, a defacto ban remains in place only because the Obama Administration has stood in the way. Even in the middle of a serious recession with 9.5 percent unemployment, the Administration refuses to clear the way for new offshore drilling jobs. And the American people are asking ‘where is the energy – and where are the jobs?’

Instead of opening up the OCS, the Obama Administration and Democrats in Congress are moving forward with a National Energy Tax that will eliminate jobs, spike energy bills and decrease economic growth.

Republicans have a better way forward with an all-of-the-above energy plan that protects our environment, provides affordable energy, and creates new high-paying jobs.

Instead of obstructing American energy development and implementing a new national energy tax, President Obama and Democrats in Congress should support our all-of-the-above solution and create millions of new jobs.”

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