Bush tries to blame Congress for high energy costs
July 12th, 2008 . by TexasFredWASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush on Saturday tried to pin the blame on Congress for soaring energy prices and said lawmakers need to lift long-standing restrictions on drilling for oil in pristine lands and offshore tracts believed to hold huge reserves of fuel.
“It’s time for members of Congress to address the pain that high gas prices are causing our citizens,” the president said. “Every extra dollar that American families spend because of high gas prices is one less dollar they can use to put food on the table or send a child to college. The American people deserve better.”
With gasoline prices above $4 a gallon, Bush and his Republican allies think Americans are less reluctant to allow drilling offshore and in an Alaska wildlife refuge that environmentalists have fought successfully for decades to protect. Nearly half the people surveyed by the Pew Research Center in late June said they now consider energy exploration and drilling more important than conservation, compared with a little over a third who felt that way only five months ago. The sharpest shift in attitude came among political liberals.
Full Story Here:
Bush tries to blame Congress for high energy costs
These days it’s a rare occasion that I am in full agreement with the President, but this is one of those occasions. Congress has done much to bring about this crisis. But it’s not just the current sitting congress, this goes back to 1974 or ‘75 at least. Possibly further back than that, but when the 1st so-called *oil shortage* was foisted off on America, it was a manufactured ordeal as well.
And I say *manufactured ordeal* as a matter of fact. Oil refineries in Texas and Louisiana were going full blast. Oil tankers were anchored off the coast for days at a time, all because we had nowhere to store the oil that was to be refined.
Democrats say they are for drilling, but argue that oil companies aren’t going after the oil where they already have leases. So why open new, protected areas? they ask. Democrats say there are 68 million acres of federal land and waters where oil and gas companies hold leases, but aren’t producing oil.
Here is where I also have to agree with the Dem side of congress. The oil companies do have leases that they aren’t exploring, and that IS the fault of the oil companies. Maybe congress would be well served by asking the oil companies exactly WHY they aren’t drilling these existing leases.
Regardless, we need to open up even more options for drilling, convenience plays into this equation as well. Easily accessible areas will be much less expensive to explore and develop. I don’t know if that is the reason some of our oil companies aren’t drilling the areas they DO have open to them, but in all fairness, I have to wonder if that’s not a consideration.
“Americans are fed up every time they go to fill up and they’re right to demand action. But instead of a serious response, President Bush and his allies simply repeat the same old line more drilling,” Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said in the Democrats’ radio address.
And again, I have to agree with the President, we do need more drilling. Whether it’s on existing leases or new leases, we need more drilling and production.
But, in that same line of thought, we must have more refineries as well. Without the facilities to process any increased oil production, we’re right back in the same boat we were in back in the 1970’s, awash in a sea of oil and nowhere to put it.
I don’t believe that congress, the President or the oil companies are 100% wrong, I feel that there are a lot of factors in play. We have relied on oil imports from OPEC for entirely too long, simply because it was a cheaper source.
We have at least as much oil at our disposal, under U.S. soil, as does ALL of the Arab regions of the OPEC nations. And if we get production rolling, YES, we can drill our way out of this crisis. YES, we can!
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We sure the hell can! And it’s high freaking time!!
A lot of this I blame on the Republicans because in 2004, Republicans held control of both Houses of Congress and the White House. They could have pushed legislation to open ANWR and offshore drilling but chose not to take on the Democrats. If they had pushed the issue back in 2004 and 2005 and the Democrats kept throwing up road blocks, they could now ram this down their throats, making sure the American People knew who it was that is causing their problems today I would venture to say if they did that, I doubt very few Democrats would be reelected this coming election. But, that’s what happens when RINO’s take over the party…no guts?
there is a series of events that have put us at this point, and there is little use or need to gripe about the past. we need to look forward and work NOW to produce energy HERE and NOW.
the current problems facing oil companies is the fact that many of the leases they now hold are about to expire. oil companies need to know they will be able to produce and make a buck before they will commit hours and equipment, and that is reasonable. ccongress needs to extend these leases. the next problem oil companies face here is whenever they announce plans to drill anywhere, 600 tort lawyers show up on their doorstep representing various special interest groups like the sierra club, etc. and any action becomes too expensive and time consuming to eeven bother with. congress needs to pass tort law reform, and/ or hang all tort lawyers. the country does not need more John Edwards types making millions by making our energy costs ever higher like Edwards has made our prescription drug costs skyrocket. cost efficient energy is readily available, we just need to remove a few roadblocks, many of which is located on capitol hill.
Mark hit it on the head, I wasn’t blaming anyone in the past so much as I was using it as an example…
But yeah, a few road blocks, a few Dems AND Repubs with the holy crap slapped out of em, a bit of common sense and this crisis is OVER…
1. You’re correct insofar as we could have done something about this back in the 70s and during GOP Admins.
2. BobF is COMPLETELY correct when he indicates the GOP had NO idea what to do with the power it possessed. Why is it the Demorats have no problem wielding what power they possess and will use it for blackmail and extortion across the aisle (and the GOP CAPITULATES), but the GOP can’t seem to even get a GRASP of the power they may possess for a time and — God FORBID they even THINK of using their power to SMACK DOWN stupid-ass ideas and bills??
3. Your pointing out the lease issue — yes, if nothing else the nation deserves an EXPLANATION of the failure to drill. Perhaps there ARE reasons but the nation needs to and deserves to HEAR and READ them. Accountability.
4. Someone once wrote, and I believe it to be true: let there be word of approved drilling in the U.S. and speculative prices will drop damned near overnight.
5. BOTH parties are to blame. But here’s the rub: though the Demorats “hold the power” now, they COULDN’T stop Bush from pushing FISA. That speaks VOLUMES about their REAL power — but does the GOP take much advantage of it??
6. My H.S. Civics teacher once said, and I believe it fervently with all my heart; it is as true now as then: “Democrats don’t win elections; Republicans LOSE them.”
BZ
The largest reason little drilling has occurred here is just simple economics, arabian oil was selling cheaper than our local production costs for the past 25 years. couple that with rising envirofanaticism here, and this is what we got. now, recently, is growing world demand for oil, and Arabs have discovered they have us by the short hairs and are rather enjoying their new found power over us.
Mark, and when you couple all of that with the fact that congress and the oil companies think that ALL Americans are stupid, well, there ya go…
Fred, I hate to say it, but the American public at large IS stupid. If you can cite any smart actions by the electorate in the last 30 years aside from the odd quirk here and there….I’m all ears.
As a group, yeah they are, but I was referring to folks like you, me, BZ, Bushy, you know, all us bog dwelling, gun toting, beer swilling, uneducated rednecks who also cling to our religion and Bibles…
Fixed, just for BobF…
Fred, don’t forget those of us who also cling to our religion and Bibles.
Yid has a good post about an extremely rare find, a intelligent politician.
I suspect that with crude oil selling for what it is the oil companies that have the leases would be drilling if “1″..they thought there was oil there worth getting..and “2″..if they could get the rigs to drill.
I have family and friends that work the Oklahoma oil patch..and they tell me that it is up to a year’s wait just to get a double derrick rig to drill a 5000 ft hole..and those in the drilling business tell me they cannot get and keep enough roughnecks to work the rigs..
Could be some of the problem..the oil companies don’t want to commit to the millions it takes to drill offshore and are using the available platforms to drill where they know they will make money..and some of the areas where they are restricted are areas where they know there is oil worth getting..
Another problem is refineries..we do not have enough and of course when you add the laws requiring so many different types of gasoline and diesel to meet various state’s enviro-nut laws…
According to the American Petroleum Institute their are billions if not trillions of cubic feet of natural gas to be had under the USA and the Gulf of Mexico..enough to satisfy our energy needs for decades..in fact enough to satisfy our needs until an alternative energy can be found..but the same problem exits in getting to it..shortage of rigs, help, and court fights.
One other thing to consider..the threat by the dim-a-crits to put a ‘windfall’ profit tax on oil and gas..and don’t forget the threat of some left wingers that they are gonna ’socialize’ the oil companies. Both are enough to make a CEO think before investing a lot of money in the USA..especially when his company is already making records profits..
Here’s exactly the thing Mark was talking about.
U.S. Judge Blocks Gas Drilling in Michigan Forest
Both parties have had a hand in this mess but the Dems have been the primary culprits. They get a lot of money from the environmental crowd and they don’t want to jeopardize that.
We’re all partly the blame, also. We should have been up in arms when oil started approaching $100 a bbl. It seems that $4 for a gallon of gasoline was the figure that finally got everyone’s attention.
I’m from KY and both my Senators & Congresscritter are somewhat conservative Republicans so I don’t have to b*tch at ‘em. But I’ve kin who have Dem Reps and they are writing them and telling them to quit the finger-pointing and do something. That’s what it takes, do your homework, cite sources for any numbers you use and then keep hammering them to get off their butts and do something. This being an election year they tend to listen to us rubes a little more than usual.