[StBernard] Interior Secretary Salazar Doesn't Deserve a Raise

[Westley Annis]

Dear Friend, 

  

I don't know a single Louisianian who would agree that Interior Secretary
Ken Salazar has done a good job of making sure that drilling permits are
being issued to get our energy economy up and running. And yet liberals in
the U.S. Senate, led by Majority Leader Harry Reid, are trying their best to
give Salazar a nearly $20,000 pay raise.

That's outrageous, and this week, I sent a letter
<https://iqs3.solutions.lmit.com/iqextranet/iqClickTrk.aspx?&cid=quorum_vitt
er-iq&crop=19489.155678024.13632978.15092090&redirect=http%3a%2f%2fvitter.se
nate.gov%2fpublic%2findex.cfm%3fFuseAction%3dPressRoom.PressReleases%26amp%3
bContentRecord_id%3d1e453722-cbf2-c8f2-461c-11474e0559a6>  to Salazar to
explain why I'm not going to stand for it. The fact is, Secretary Salazar's
mismanagement of the permitting process is causing more Gulf energy workers
to lose their jobs every day, and the pace of permitting is abysmal by any
reasonable measure - especially as prices at the pump have soared toward $4
per gallon. 

  

In light of drilling oversight agency director Michael Bromwich's recent
admission that his department has only issued one new deepwater exploratory
drilling permit since the moratorium was lifted in October, I'm going to
continue blocking Salazar's raise until Interior resumes issuing new permits
at the same rate as before the BP oil spill. 

  

Salazar once bragged that he would keep his "boot on the neck
<https://iqs3.solutions.lmit.com/iqextranet/iqClickTrk.aspx?&cid=quorum_vitt
er-iq&crop=19489.155678024.13632978.15092090&redirect=http%3a%2f%2fwww.reute
rs.com%2farticle%2f2010%2f05%2f02%2fusa-rig-salazar-idUSN0215833120100502> "
of BP; well, blocking Salazar's raise is just my way of keeping a 'boot on
the neck' of Interior until they get job the done. Surely the secretary can
appreciate that approach. 

  

I've also reintroduced a bill
<https://iqs3.solutions.lmit.com/iqextranet/iqClickTrk.aspx?&cid=quorum_vitt
er-iq&crop=19489.155678024.13632978.15092090&redirect=http%3a%2f%2fvitter.se
nate.gov%2fpublic%2findex.cfm%3fFuseAction%3dPressRoom.PressReleases%26amp%3
bContentRecord_id%3dCD85D60E-C6D8-4DFF-FB3B-E49665ACDBE5>  this year, with
bipartisan support, to eliminate automatic congressional pay increases. In
2009, the Senate adopted a provision nearly identical to my bill, which
sought to eliminate the annual raises for Congress, but former Speaker of
the House Nancy Pelosi never called it up for a vote. 

  

Many employees in Louisiana and across the country have lost their jobs or
been forced to accept pay freezes, and it makes no sense for Salazar or
Congress to continue automatically receiving annual raises without having to
publicly vote on it or defend why they deserve it. If Salazar or Congress
want a raise, they should have to explain why they deserve it to the
American people. 

Sincerely, 

David Vitter 
United States Senator