Fighting the Drilling Moratorium

Dear Friend,

It has been one year since the President lifted his moratorium on deep water drilling in the Gulf of Mexico; yet a de facto moratorium still remains. The Administration continues to hold jobs along the Gulf Coast hostage with delayed permitting and unnecessary burdensome regulations. According to the Gulf Economic Survival Team - in the past year, deep water permit issuance is down 80 percent and shallow water permits -- permits that were supposedly never impacted by the moratorium -- off 50 percent over historical averages.

American families and businesses need the affordable, reliable energy found in the Gulf of Mexico. And our neighbors and friends need to get back to work. I am working hard to deal with the job losses, the Administration's policies, and their web of regulations. Today, I am writing to share with you 3 things I did last week to help end the de facto moratorium and end expedite the permitting process.

On Tuesday, Senator David Vitter and I met with the person in charge of permitting, Director Michael Bromwich, and other officials from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Gulf of Mexico Regional Office.

After previously being denied access to this government office, I used this meeting to demand the hard-working people of South Louisiana and the entire Gulf Coast have an open and transparent permitting process. And I asked questions to ensure the employees in New Orleans are able to do their jobs most efficiently without worrying about bureaucrats in Washington halting permit approval or restoring our state's economy.

Although I didn't leave the meeting with a box full of permits, I am optimistic the meeting will help eliminate some of the red-tape that is stifling job creation and energy production. And I am hopeful we will see more permits being issued in the future.

On Wednesday, the House Natural Resources Committee, the Committee with jurisdiction over BSEE and BOEM, held a hearing with those affected by the President's de facto moratorium. My colleagues and the American public were able to hear testimony on how the sluggish pace of permitting is crippling our entire region's economy.

The hearing also allowed me the opportunity to address the Administration's lack of helping restore health to our shrimpers and fishermen. And I was able to highlight how the Administration forgets that both the seafood industry and the offshore oil and gas industry have thrived together for decades and struggles to find ways they can work together again.

Finally, on Thursday, the Natural Resources Committee held a hearing with Director Bromwich. Again, the hearing allowed the American public to hear just how slow the Administration has been in granting permits and how burdensome their actions have been to putting our people back to work. And, most importantly, we heard Bromwich say there was no need for Congress to pass legislation granting his bureau more regulatory powers.

Although the one year anniversary has not been joyful, I am encouraged by the progress we made last week. And you can rest assured that I will continue fighting to put our people back to work.

Sincerely,

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