[StBernard] Vitter Bill to Lift Obama’s Moratorium

[Westley Annis]

Team,

Offshore jobs are critical to the economic success of Louisiana, and I will continue fighting to keep every one of them. The Obama Administration is clueless and out of touch with this fact. The six-month moratorium on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico is not just a job killer, it's an economy killer that will be felt, much like the oil spill itself, for years to come.

The six month moratorium will result in rigs moving overseas, sending thousands to the unemployment lines. Yet, my opponent Charlie Melancon still indicates he understands the President's decision to implement a moratorium on offshore drilling. 

Yesterday Charlie Melancon said he understands where Obama is coming from with the moratorium. Unlike Charlie Melancon, I have no idea where Obama is coming from putting thousands of Louisianians out of work. 

 <http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?a=lkIUJ6PRKnL1ImI&s=cnKHLLPkF9KGKQOsHkH&m=atJPLaMSImLWKgL>  

President Obama's selections for his new oil spill investigation commission have made his anti-drilling agenda even clearer. Instead of appointing engineers with experience in the field of offshore drilling, he appointed academics and environmental activists who have a history of promoting anti-drilling policies. This neither serves to fix safety problems in the Gulf, nor to protect jobs in Louisiana.

The administration's blindness is why I introduced legislation to lift Obama's job-killing moratorium and move forward with immediate rigorous safety inspections.

This moratorium threatens to finish what the oil spill started. If it stays in place, even for six months, it will be a devastating blow to the economy of Louisiana and other Gulf states. My bill would simply nullify the president's ill-advised moratorium. The best way to prevent future oil spills is not to stop drilling altogether, but to improve the inspection process to ensure that our rigs are safe.

We need to shut down the risk, not shut down jobs.

Sincerely,
David Vitter