Message from Congressman Mike Ross

By now, we’ve all felt the pain at the pump as gas prices continue to rise. These rising gas prices not only affect us at the pump, but they also affect many other parts of our economy from rising food prices to decreased tourism revenue for many of our communities and small businesses. Moreover, the instability of gas prices – the constant rise and fall – weakens consumer confidence and slows our economic recovery.

If America is going to forge through this economic recovery, we’ve got to have a stable and affordable supply of energy. One of the ways we can accomplish this goal is to drill more here at home. Drilling more won’t lower the price of fuel right away, but it will help create long-term stability in the price of oil here at home.

Over the past two weeks, the U.S. House of Representatives has considered several pieces of legislation addressing domestic drilling. On May 5th, I voted for and the House passed the bipartisan Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act, H.R. 1230, requiring the Secretary of the Interior to conduct oil and natural gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and offshore Virginia that have been delayed or cancelled by the White House.

On May 11th, I voted for and the House passed the bipartisan Putting the Gulf Back to Work Act, H.R. 1229, which improves safety standards and calls for the White House to streamline the approval process for drilling permits in the Gulf of Mexico.

Then, again on May 11th, I voted for and the House passed the Reversing President Obama’s Offshore Moratorium Act, H.R. 1231, which lifts the President’s ban on new offshore drilling by requiring the White House to move forward on American energy production in areas containing the most oil and natural gas resources. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates this bill alone would generate $800 million in revenue over 10 years.

Combined, all three of these bills – H.R. 1229, H.R. 1230 and H.R. 1231 – could create 250,000 short-term jobs and 1.2 million long-term jobs, according to Dr. Joseph Mason, economist and professor at Louisiana State University.

I am also convinced that amid rising gas prices and billion dollar profits by major oil corporations, it is past time to end the tax breaks – financed by taxpayers – that essentially act as subsidies for big oil companies. That’s why earlier this month, I also voted for a procedural motion, which failed, to consider the Big Oil Welfare Repeal Act. This bill would have repealed the Section 199 domestic manufacturing tax deduction for the largest oil corporations, saving taxpayers $12.8 billion over the next decade, according to the CBO. Our fiscal crisis requires a shared sacrifice and this money could be used to pay down our deficit. If we’re asking every agency, including the Department of Defense, to cut back, then I think it’s only fair we ask the big oil corporations to do the same and end these taxpayer-funded breaks.

Finally, I was proud to also introduce a bill – the American-Made Energy Act of 2011, H.R. 1682 – that focuses on American-made energy by drilling more here at home and then using the lease and royalty revenues from the drilling to make the single largest investment in the history of our country in alternative and renewable energies. We’ve depended on foreign oil for far too long and my bill takes one of the biggest first steps to energy independence and lower fuel prices.

We simply cannot ignore the reality that our way of life continues to depend on affordable oil, gasoline and diesel, but we also can’t ignore the reality that they are limited resources. Drilling more alone will not solve all of our problems nor will it meet our long-term energy needs. We need to explore all forms of energy and invest in new technologies if we are to ever make this country truly energy independent. As your Congressman, I will continue working with both Democrats and Republicans to address our nation’s energy crisis and to stabilize the long-term price of energy.