WASHINGTON, D.C., January 17, 2012 - Today during the White House Press Briefing, Press Secretary Jay Carney attempted to defend the Obama Administration’s dismal energy record when asked about the President’s Jobs Council report that recommends increased energy production on federal lands as a way to create new American jobs:

“The fact of the matter is, on oil and gas production, we have higher oil production in this country in 2010 than we've had since 2003. This President is committed to an all-of-the-above approach in our energy development, which means increasing production here at home, a focus on natural gas and its importance for our energy future, as well as investments in clean energy.”

Despite Carney’s rhetoric, the facts show that the Obama Administration’s actions are actually causing a decrease in American energy production:

• Oil and natural gas production on federal lands is down by over 40% compared to ten years ago. Carney does not explain that the vast majority of increased production is occurring on private lands in states such as North Dakota, not on federal lands.

• Under the Obama Administration, 2010 had the LOWEST number of onshore leases issued since 1984.

• The Administration held only one offshore lease sale in 2011. Conducted on December 14^th, the Administration narrowly avoided making 2011 the first year since 1953 without an offshore lease sale.

If President Obama is truly committed to an all-of-the-above energy approach:

• Why is he proposing an offshore drilling plan that keeps the majority of our offshore energy resources under lock-and-key?

• Why did his Administration just impose a 20-year ban on uranium mining on one million acres of federal land in Arizona?

• Why is he refusing to make a decision on the Keystone XL Pipeline?

WASHINGTON, D.C., January 17, 2012 - President Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness released their “Road Map to Renewal” report on ideas for job creation. The report cited a number of “all-in” energy policy recommendations in order to create American jobs that bear a striking resemblance to the “all-of-the-above” American Energy Initiative promoted by House Republicans. Specific proposals from the Council include increased oil, natural gas and coal production on federal lands, additional uranium mining, streamlining permitting and leasing processes for renewable energy production, and the development of pipelines, transmission and distribution for electricity and fuel.

“The President’s Jobs Council today confirmed what House Republicans have known all along, that American energy production will spur job creation and strengthen our national security,” said Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04). “Unfortunately, it appears President Obama is ignoring his Council’s recommendations, much as he has ignored the views of House Republicans on energy production, economic growth and job creation. This Administration has a lengthy track record of moving in the exact opposite direction of the Council’s recommendations—whether it’s blocking new uranium mining in Arizona, slow walking offshore energy production, canceling natural gas lease sales, largely ignoring renewable energy development on federal lands or punting on the Keystone XL Pipeline.

“Just as House Republicans have been proposing, the President’s Council made it perfectly clear that increased American energy development of all kinds—whether you call it ‘all-in’ or ‘all-of-the-above’—is vital to growing the economy and creating jobs. The House has passed bipartisan legislation to expand U.S. energy production that the Democrat controlled Senate has refused to take action on. Hopefully, President Obama will heed the recommendations of his own Council’s report and support our efforts to strengthen America’s energy security.”

ICYMI: Time to decide on Keystone

January 12, 2012

The Hill
By Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.)

“I’m the decider, and I decide what is best.”

It’s a shame that former President George W. Bush caught so much flak for those now-infamous words, because there is a great deal of truth in them. We want our country’s chief executive to be capable of making tough decisions. Unfortunately, we don’t have a decider in the Oval Office these days. Our current president is the complete opposite — he’s more of a procrastinator.

During his time in office, President Obama has put off decision after decision. He delayed Arctic offshore oil lease sales until 2015, he pushed back reviewing the smog standard until 2013 and he put off his verdict on the Keystone XL Pipeline until 2013. Because the president refused to step up and make a decision on Keystone XL, the House and Senate forced his hand. We approved a bill requiring the president to authorize Keystone XL by Feb. 21, 2012 — unless the president decides that Keystone XL is not in our country’s best interest.

There’s that word again. “Decide.” It’s well past time for a decision on Keystone XL. While similar pipelines are regularly approved in 18 to 24 months, Keystone XL is still sitting on the shelf at month 40. If Feb. 21 comes around and Obama has decided that the Keystone XL Pipeline is not in our country’s best interest — or if he hasn’t decided anything at all — he will have some serious explaining to do to the American people.

Job creation is certainly among our country’s best interests. With our economy struggling to recover, job creation might just be our top priority. Americans want to work, but while the president twiddles his thumbs in the White House, employment opportunities grow fewer and fewer. Yet, here sits Keystone XL, promising at least 20,000 direct on-site jobs in construction, operations and supporting industries.

That is not a number simply plucked out of the air. Each of those 20,000+ jobs has been accounted for by TransCanada, the company that proposed Keystone XL. TransCanada’s vice president recently broke down Keystone XL’s anticipated job creation as follows:

• Construction: 17 pipeline “spreads” x 500 workers/spread = 8,500 workers
• Operations: 30 pump stations x 100 workers/station = 3,000 workers
• Manufacturing (pipes, hardware, etc.): 7,000 workers
• Oversight/Management: 1,000 workers
• Assembly camps: 600 workers

These are more than 20,000 real jobs for Americans — jobs that cannot be outsourced. Yet, Americans still wait for these jobs, for these opportunities, and for the president to make a decision on Keystone XL.

But the Obama administration continues to drag its feet on Keystone XL, just as it has for three long years. During this time, the president, like other great procrastinators, has continued to rationalize his inaction. He has claimed that the State Department’s initial environmental review wasn’t good enough and that he would ask the State Department — and the same biologists, engineers and environmental analysts that completed the first review — for a second. For one reason or another, he wasn’t satisfied with the final Environmental Impact Statement released in August 2011 by the State Department. The president didn’t like the State Department’s conclusion that the preferred course of action with Keystone XL would be to proceed with the project as originally proposed.

In the wake of the State Department study, the president stalled, citing the supposed risk that the pipeline poses to Nebraska’s environment. But I’m proud to say that Nebraska state representatives didn’t want to risk having Obama take his sweet time to reroute the pipeline around Nebraska’s Sand Hills region, so they are now plotting the new route themselves.

Sometimes the most risky decision is not making a decision at all. By stalling on the Keystone XL Pipeline, Obama is playing dice with our economy and gambling with the lives of hardworking Americans. The longer he waits, the clearer it becomes that Americans will not tolerate inaction in uncertain times.

The fact is, making a decision this close to the election — even a decision that stands to create tens of thousands of desperately needed jobs — could hurt the president politically. Do we really need another leader who is willing to put his own political life before the lives of the American people? I don’t think so. What we need is a decider.

Terry is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and is the author of H.R. 1938, the North American-Made Energy Security Act.

Read the article online here.

ICYMI: Grassroots Groundswell: More Than 100 Groups Ask President For Immediate Approval of Shovel-Ready Keystone XL Pipeline

January 11, 2012

WASHINGTON, DC – A group of over 100 organizations from all over the country wrote to President Obama today urging him to approve the Keystone XL pipeline “as soon as possible.” The broad coalition of supporters cited the immense benefits the pipeline will bring to America in terms of job creation, economic growth, energy security, and national security.

The letter reads, “With your approval, this shovel-ready project will provide 20,000 jobs in construction and manufacturing in the next two years, and add tens of thousands of additional jobs throughout the economy in other sectors including service, retail and distribution. With our nation’s stubbornly high unemployment, it would be irresponsible to let such good-paying jobs slip away…

“The Keystone XL pipeline will also greatly enhance America’s energy security. With the current situation in the Middle East, and tensions in the Strait of Hormuz continuing to rise, approving this pipeline is the right energy and national security policy for America. Canada is already our largest supplier of imported oil – almost 2.4 million barrels per day, or one fourth of our imports. With this proposed pipeline, our crude imports from Canada could reach 4 million barrels a day by 2020, twice what we currently import from the Persian Gulf. Enhancing our energy partnership with Canada will strengthen America’s energy future.”

To view the full letter, click here.