Houma Today | January 19, 2017 | Shane Comeaux
People from other states say we speak a different language in Louisiana, and in this case, they are right. Here in Louisiana, we translate Donald Trump's campaign slogan into "make drilling great again." This is what the families and businesses that have been deeply hurt by the anti-energy policies of President Obama heard every time President-elect Trump used his slogan.
As a worker in the oilfield who was laid off twice in 2016, I and many others whose families earn their livelihood in the oil industry are glad to see a changing of the guard in Washington, D.C. President Obama's policies have hurt us on multiple fronts, and we are confident President-elect Trump will revive drilling in the Gulf and across the country.
The worst of those policies are over-burdensome regulations that do little to nothing to truly protect workers or the environment. President-elect Trump needs to roll back as many executive orders enacted over the last eight years as possible that have negatively affected the industry, especially the ones that have limited or closed off new areas of exploration for no other reason than to appease his environmentalist base.
After the executive orders, a very thorough review of regulations that have been enacted at the Department of Interior through the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement needs to take place and actions started to remove those that are hurting more than helping.
Read the full op-ed here.
Shane Comeaux is an oilfield worker who lives in Bayou Blue, LA.
