Sen. Dianne Feinstein Will Vote This Week on Domestic Oil Production

Take Action Now! Go Here and Contact Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Urge a "YES" Vote on the Amendment to Lift the Moratorium.

by: the american conservative union | published: 07 23, 2008

For months, Liberals in Congress led by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have blocked a vote on increasing domestic energy production by lifting the moratorium on deep water drilling for oil.  Now, this week, there will be a vote when the Senate Appropriations Committee takes up amendments to the Interior Appropriations bill.  Sen. Dianne Feinstein's vote will be key to passing an amendment allowing the moratorium to be lifted.

Take Action Now! Go Here and Contact Sen. Dianne Feinstein.  Urge a "YES" Vote on the Amendment to Lift the Moratorium.

13 years ago, when President Clinton vetoed the bill to allow oil leases on a tiny portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), he said it didn’t matter because it would take 10 years for the Alaskan oil to make a difference.  If Clinton had signed the bill, we would now have an estimated flow of one million barrels per day producing 27 million gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel.  Now, once again, Liberals in Congress are using the excuse that it will take “years” to get the benefits of increased domestic oil production from deep water drilling.  But the government’s own estimates—supplied by the Department of Energy—projects the United States will consume 19 percent more oil and 7 percent more natural gas in 2030 than was consumed in 2006.   DOE’s projection is that, although there will be growth in the use of alternative energy sources, oil, coal and natural gas will still have to meet 83 percent of the nation’s energy needs in the year 2030.  Conservatives know that our policy of discouraging domestic oil and gas production is self-defeating by making us ever more dependent on energy from unfriendly countries.

Although lifting the moratorium now will not increase supply tomorrow, it will have a powerful effect on the commodity markets that deal in future supply and demand.

Contact Sen. Dianne Feinstein Now! Follow This Link to Urge a "YES" Vote on the Amendment to Allow Deep Water Drilling.

How much oil is out there?  No one knows for sure since there have been no resource estimates for 20 years, but a conservative estimate by the U.S. Minerals Management Service shows at least 18 billion barrels of oil and 76.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas are contained in now inaccessible lands in the Outer Continental Shelf.  Usually actual production far exceeds estimates. Prudhoe Bay in Alaska produced more than twice the original estimated number of barrels.

The Liberals in Congress blocking a vote would have you believe that deep water drilling would ruin our beaches and the view from those beaches.  The fact is most development has taken place beyond the horizon from those beaches.  As for drilling closer to shore, new technology is being developed that would allow production without the need for drilling platforms.  Another objection to lifting the moratorium is the possibility of oil spills.  New technology has dramatically reduced that possibility.  In 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita blew through over 3,000 offshore platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and no significant spills were reported from production activities and no small spills reached shore.

A “yes” vote in the Senate Appropriations Committee this week may force Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to allow a vote on the floor of the Senate—a vote he has blocked for months.

Take Action Now! Contact Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Say You Want a "YES" Vote on the Amendment to Lift the Drilling Moratorium.

For all you do to advance conservative free-market principles, we at the American Conservative Union are most appreciative.

add a comment