A recent study by LSU professor Dr. Joe Mason highlighted the widespread impact of the offshore drilling moratorium. It noted that the moratorium would results in more than $707 million in lost wages and spillover effects that will cost the United States $2.7 billion dollars in lost economic activity.
The Senate’s “energy” bill must protect Gulf residents during this difficult time and not create policies that will make it even harder for them to re-coup their livelihoods and get our economy back on track. Now is the worst time to either enact or even tolerate policies that will result in more lost jobs, more lost revenue, and more damaged communities.
Taking actions that could undercut the competitiveness of our domestic energy suppliers only further harms the Gulf residents struggling to make ends meet. Sen. Reid and his colleagues should be keenly aware of this reality as they plot the course for our nation’s energy future.
I hope that our elected officials have been paying attention to the pleas of Americans, especially in the Gulf, as they beg for assistance. While it is easy for politicians to face cameras at a press conference and condemn an industry, they must remember that their decisions have real world impacts. The video footage below from the White House Spill Commission Hearing in New Orleans tells the story best:
