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Thank you for contacting me to express your concerns regarding offshore drilling. I appreciate hearing from you, and I am proud to represent you in the United States Congress.
Our nation is facing a crucial time in the debate over our energy future. It is my firm belief that instead of focusing our efforts on finding new ways of exploiting old and harmful sources of energy, we must focus on a responsible approach based on sustainable energy creation and conservation. By any credible estimate, drilling for oil in either the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) or in environmentally sensitive areas will not provide any immediate relief from the current energy crisis nor a long-term solution to meet our future energy needs. A Department of Energy report released in 2007 stated, "The projections in the OCS access case indicate that access to the Pacific, Atlantic and eastern Gulf regions would not have a significant impact on domestic crude oil and natural gas production or prices before 2030."
You may be interested to know that the oil companies currently own the rights to 68 million acres of public land in the United States, land that they themselves estimate to contain 81% of America's federal oil and gas reserves. I believe oil companies should drill on the land they already control which is why I supported H.R. 6515, the Drill Responsibly in Leased Lands Act of 2008. This bill directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct an oil and gas competitive leasing program in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA). The NPRA contains 20 million acres that could produce 10.6 billion barrels of oil; more oil than is believed to be in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Unfortunately, this legislation failed to pass the House on July 17, 2008.
Rather than drilling for new oil to feed our addiction, I support the creation of new energy sources and efficiency standards that will help to wean our economy off of fossil fuels, especially an updated corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standard which would mandate increased gas mileage in our automobiles. I also supported H.R. 6, the Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection, and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007, which passed both houses of Congress on December 18, 2007, and was signed into law by President Bush on December 19, 2007. H.R. 6 takes major steps toward reducing American dependency on foreign oil. The bill increases the fuel economy standard to 35 miles per gallon by 2020 for new cars and trucks, reducing American oil consumption by 1.1 million gallons per day by 2020, and saving American families $700 to $1,000 per year at the pump.
Sustainable environmental and economic policies are not only possible but are vital to the future prosperity of our nation. I have long been an advocate for these policies and I will continue my support while I serve you in Congress.
As always, feel free to contact me on any issue of concern. Please sign up for our e-newsletter by visiting our website at www.house.gov/ellison.
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