In a visit to Washington, D.C., yesterday, a group of about fifty energy industry workers and representatives from the Gulf of Mexico area told lawmakers, reporters and bloggers that if the Obama administration and Congress are serious about creating and saving jobs, they will lift the moratorium on energy exploration in the Gulf.
The workers were joined by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and former Rep. John Peterson (R-Pa.), outspoken opponents of both the moratorium and tax changes proposed by Democrats that opponents charge would hammer the energy industry.
Thomas Pyle, President of the American Energy Alliance, a group focused on maintaining energy industry jobs in the Gulf area said in a statement, “In an economy like this, the President and Congress should be looking for ways to strengthen U.S. businesses, not weaken them.”
Several of those who traveled to the Hill for meetings with members of Congress say they are suffering financially in the wake of the moratorium’s imposition, and that layoffs and business closures will be unavoidable should it remain in effect.
“My job matters,” said Thomas Clements, co-owner of Oilfield CNC Machining in Broussard, Louisiana. “So I’ve come to Washington to find somebody to hear me, to see my hopelessness, my no-man’s-land that I’m in because of these proposed tax changes to the energy industry and the moratorium.” Clements elaborated, saying that he had planned to hire more workers this year, but the six-month moratorium on drilling has halted those plans.
What's abundantly clear is that the regime either doesn't understand the ripple effect such a crushing and arbitrary moratorium has, or it completely understands the impacts of its actions and that the hardships voiced above are a feature, rather than a bug.
At any rate, the moratorium's effects are already being felt. Today's new jobless claims figures and tomorrow's sobering employment numbers are going to start showing some of these impacts, and sooner rather than later. The country depends on energy produced by the Gulf of Mexico and the economy won't grow without it.
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