Press Releases

House Passes Bipartisan Bill to Restart Offshore Lease Sales in Gulf of Mexico and Offshore Virginia

 Today, the House passed H.R. 1230, the Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act, with a bipartisan vote of 266 to 149. U.S. Congressman Bill Flores (R-Texas) released the following statement today regarding the House vote on H.R. 1230, which requires the Administration to stop delaying offshore lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and offshore Virginia:

“When gas prices hit $4.00 per gallon in the summer of 2008, Congress and President Bush lifted a decades-old ban on drilling, which later allowed for a potential lease sale off the coast of Virginia.  A lease sale was scheduled in the Virginia OCS, as well as several in the Gulf of Mexico, and they were included as part of the 2007-2012 plan when President Obama tookoffice. However, these plans were postponed or cancelled by the Obama Administration, and we are now back in this situation of high gas prices squeezing the budgets of American families and small businesses. Shortly after the Natural Resources Committee passed this bill, the Obama Administration announced a token lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico. Prior to this action, 2011 would have been the first year since 1958 that the federal government failed to hold an offshore lease sale.  The facts are clear: the current Administration is blocking American energy production.

“Since President Obama took office, the national average price of gasoline has more than doubled to nearly $4 per gallon in most states. The energy policies of the Obama Administration have resulted in the production loss of hundreds of thousands of oil barrels each day and, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, offshore oil production is expected to drop 13 percent in 2011.

“It isn’t too late to change our country’s course of action and begin to undo the damage that has been done by the Obama Administration’s nonsensical policies. The strategic energy reserves in offshore Virginia and the Gulf of Mexico belong to the American taxpayers, and should be utilized in an efficient and environmentally sound manner to create jobs, grow our economy, lower energy prices and enhance our national security by reducing our dependence on foreign oil.  The federal government also has the ability to realize substantial revenues through the leasing of these areas, which will help pay down our $14 trillion national debt. According to CBO, enacting this legislation would increase receipts to the Federal treasury by about $40 million over the next 10 years. I applaud the House for passing H.R. 1230, a bill that I originally cosponsored. This is an important first step to putting our country on the path to energy security.”

For more information on what House Republicans are doing as a part of the House Energy Action Initiative (HEAT) to increase American energy production, help address rising gas prices and create new jobs, click here. 

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