WASHINGTON, D.C.—In testimony submitted to the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship today, Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the Institute for 21st Century Energy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, highlighted the significant economic consequences of the administration’s moratorium on oil and natural gas exploration in the Gulf of Mexico.
“While the Gulf spill is a catastrophe, the administration’s reaction with a blanket moratorium is not supported by facts,” Harbert said following the committee’s hearing. “We are urging the administration to provide regulatory clarification for future development of America’s resources and urgently lift the Gulf moratorium. Federal inspectors have declared the rigs safe, industry has agreed to comply with new safety regulations, and yet the moratorium remains in place. Gulf businesses are hurting and rigs are leaving the Gulf of Mexico, affecting America’s long-term energy and economic security.
The administration itself has acknowledged the significant impacts that the federal moratorium is having and will have on tens of thousands of American jobs and economic growth in recent analyses.
“With national unemployment hovering at just under 10 percent, the administration has chosen to pursue a policy, questioned by two of their own commissions, that will increase unemployment and reduce industry investment,” Harbert said. “The moratorium, coupled with President Obama’s proposal to impose billions in new taxes on the oil and gas industry, are a direct threat to our nation’s already battered economy, competitiveness, and energy security,” she said. “It is time to get the Gulf back to work and America’s energy resources on line.”
The U.S. Chamber’s Institute for 21st Century Energy has been an active voice in the debate to lift the Gulf moratorium. Through a growing coalition of state and local business groups, the U.S. Chamber has generated more than 6000 letters urging President Obama to lift the moratorium on jobs and growth in the Gulf region. The mission of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for 21st Century Energy is to unify policymakers, regulators, business leaders, and the American public behind a common sense energy strategy to help keep America secure, prosperous, and clean. Through policy development, education, and advocacy, the Institute is building support for meaningful action at the local, state, national, and international levels.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.
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