Fact over Fiction on Atlantic Offshore Energy

Townhall | April 10, 2016 | David Holt

President Obama said last year that he would rather the U.S. “with all the safeguards and standards that we have, be producing our oil and gas, rather than importing it, which is bad for our people” and “potentially purchased from places that have much lower environmental standards than we do.”

Except, it now seems, in resource-rich federal waters in the Atlantic Ocean.

The administration backpedaled on its promise to implement an all-of-the-above energy approach by deciding not to consider potential future oil and gas leasing at least 50 miles off the southeastern U.S. coast through 2022, despite the lease sale having been included in a plan that Interior Secretary Sally Jewell called “a balanced proposal” when announcing it last year.

So why the switcheroo?

Especially from someone who said we have witnessed “the most aggressive and comprehensive offshore oil and gas regulatory reforms in the nation’s history.”

A few things, Jewell says.

“When you factor in conflicts with national defense, economic activities such as fishing and tourism, and opposition from many local communities, it simply doesn’t make sense to move forward with any lease sales in the coming five years,”she explained.

Is she right?

Let’s take a close look at the administration’s claims for flip-flopping on the Atlantic – and compare them with the facts.

Read the full op-ed here.

David Holt is President of the Consumer Energy Alliance.