Concerned Ban Could Hurt the Nation’s Economy More than the Spill Itself

Congressman Doug Lamborn (CO-05) today co-sponsored legislation to lift President Obama’s ban on deepwater drilling in the wake of the Deepwater Gulf Oil Spill and instead require the Department of the Interior (DOI) to move forward with safe offshore oil and gas production.

 H.R. 5519, the Gulf Coast Jobs Preservation Act, has bipartisan support of more than 40 members. It would

1. Nullify the Minerals Management Service's Notice that establishes the six-month deepwater moratorium and requires lease owners to halt their deepwater operations;

2. Require the DOI to ensure that all drilling operations are conducted in compliance with federal law and to identify additional measures to ensure the safety of deepwater drilling.

 “President Obama’s moratorium was rejected by his own panel of engineering experts, who stated that ‘it will not measurably reduce risk further and it will have a lasting impact on the nation’s economy which may be greater than that of the oil spill.’ While our first priority must be to stop the leak and protect the environment, we must not turn a disastrous environmental situation into an even greater economic disaster.

 “Offshore drilling provides 30 percent of U.S. oil production and is the second largest source of revenue to the federal government at $6 billion annually, and has a direct employment of 150,000 individuals.  Just as you wouldn’t shut down the airline industry while a single plane crash is investigated, you don’t shut down the offshore drilling industry at this time.”– Congressman Doug Lamborn (CO-05)