API Sponsors Job Rallies – Where are our Politicians?
September 3, 2010
Have you heard about the series of rallies being sponsored by API this month? The goal is to provide forums where interested citizens can voice their concerns about the economy, jobs, and ill-conceived energy proposals.
The first three rallies occurred yesterday in Texas and the turnout was truly incredible – more than 5,500 people attended.
While no rallies are currently planned for California, I wanted to share the following video recap highlighting the day’s events. With 15 million workers in unemployment lines, family budgets under pressure, and higher taxes looming on the horizon, I don’t need to tell you that these folks have enough to worry about, without adding even fewer jobs and higher energy prices to the list.
If you’re interested, more information about the rallies can be found at rallyforjobs.org, and, as always, let me know if you have any questions.
Jane Van Ryan
Senior Manager, Communications
E: vanryanj@api.org
Ethanol 15 – Coming soon to a neighborhood near you!
September 2, 2010
As you know, most of the gasoline consumed in the United States today contains up to 10 percent ethanol. Recently, however, the EPA has begun considering approving blends of up to 15 percent ethanol for public consumption as early as September, despite the fact that scientific reviews of E15’s impact on vehicle engines won’t be completed until 2011.
Needless to say, rushing to permit E15 could be a mistake. Higher-level ethanol blends like E15 could threaten vehicle performance and safety, void manufacturers’ warranties and confuse consumers. And it could cause air quality problems in California.
If you’re interested, here are some materials. First, a broad coalition of business, consumer and environmental groups, including API, recently wrote to the EPA to express their concerns.
I also recorded a podcast featuring Al Jessel, co-chair of the Coordinating Research Council (which is researching ethanol blends), discussing the EPA’s plan. Finally, I wanted to share an API briefing paper on the issue.
Jane Van Ryan
Senior Manager, Communications
E: vanryanj@api.org
API President says Senate leaders took right step to shelve flawed spill bill
August 5, 2010
WASHINGTON, August 3, 2010 — Senate leaders took the right step to shelve a flawed spill bill, and we look forward to working with lawmakers to improve the bill so that American taxpayers, domestic jobs, the economy and our economic security are protected, according to a statement by American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Jack Gerard:
“The decision today by the Senate leadership to shelve flawed spill legislation is a good one. The bill proposed by the Democratic leadership is not an effective or reasoned response to the spill. Instead it will cost American jobs, threaten our fragile economic recovery and jeopardize our energy security.
“Among the legislation’s shortcoming is the elimination of the cap on oil spill liability. Unlimited liability for spill damages would force most oil and natural gas companies out of the Gulf of Mexico because they would be unable to purchase insurance. This would put thousands of American jobs at risk and reduce the energy supplies we get from the Gulf.
“A robust, workable oil spill liability program – possibly including a mutual insurance element – is achievable and would cover the cost of a large spill without shifting huge costs to taxpayers.
“The bill falls short again in seeking to impose a new layer of federal regulation on hydraulic fracturing. This technology is essential to developing America’s vast reserves of shale gas, and states already do a good job regulating its use. Superfluous federal legislation would slow development of these vital domestic supplies of clean-burning energy and hundreds of thousands of new jobs associated its development.
“We strongly believe a bill is possible that could enhance offshore safety and ensure payment of damages from possible future accidents without discouraging job creation or domestic energy development. We stand ready to work with the Senate towards this goal.”
API Sounds Off on the Drilling Moratorium… The Second One!
July 15, 2010
There’s a lot happening today in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon accident — BP is testing the integrity of the Macondo well in hopes of capping it; the House and Senate are marking up energy legislation; and the deepwater drilling moratorium continues to threaten livelihoods in the Gulf.
I’d like to call your attention to a blog post we posted yesterday about the moratorium. Despite the administration’s stated reason for imposed the second moratorium, it will do nothing to improve the engineering and geological knowledge required to solve the Deepwater Horizon problem. It won’t help the industry contain blowouts. It won’t improve spill-response technology. And it won’t encourage safer operations. But it will put tens of thousands of Americans out of work, reduce domestic oil and natural gas production and make the United States increasingly reliant on other countries for energy. API’s CEO Jack Gerard also condemned the decision in a statement released on Monday.
I also wanted to give you a heads up that you are likely to see advertisements and other communications efforts from environmental groups who are seizing upon the oil leak to advocate for punitive measures against the oil and natural gas industry – new taxes in particular. API has developed a briefing paper on this issue that might be helpful to you in sorting out the facts.
And finally, API just issued a short statement on the markup of Rahall’s energy bill (CLEAR). It is attributed to Jack Gerard and says:
“The bill passed by the House Natural Resources Committee today moves well beyond a response to the tragic accident in the Gulf of Mexico, to the point where – if adopted by the Congress – provisions of the legislation will kill jobs, stifle economic recovery and punish an already-reeling Gulf Coast community.
“The numerous provisions that discourage U.S. oil and natural gas development have the potential to drive investment out of the United States, killing U.S. jobs and harming our economy.
“We support efforts to ensure safe and environmentally responsible operations, and we are committed to being part of the solution. But we cannot forget that oil and natural gas demand is growing and that it is critical to every sector of our economy. Any policy changes must bear that in mind. We can protect the environment without jeopardizing our economic security.”
Jane Van Ryan
API
Editor’s Note: With this same type of reasoning we would stop all air travel the next time a plane crashed. Obama and his goons think this is a justification for shutting down an industry they want to eventually put out of business! Pro business? HA! And remember that when government punishes big oil, those taxes are sent along to us in the form of higher energy prices. Environmentalists are also anti business and need to be stopped.
Drilling Moratorium Lifted
June 22, 2010
A federal judge in New Orleans today lifted the ban on deepwater drilling. In a 22-page ruling, Judge Martin Feldman wrote:
“The blanket moratorium, with no parameters, seems to assume that because one rig failed and although no one yet fully knows why, all companies and rigs drilling new wells over 500 feet also universally present an imminent danger.”
The White House announced it would file an immediate appeal.
In a statement, API welcomed Judge Feldman’s decision to lift the moratorium on Gulf of Mexico deepwater operations and listed some of the activities the industry is taking to improve the safety of deepwater operations.
Immediately after the Deepwater Horizon accident, the industry formed two task forces to examine safety and environmental protection, and recently it formed two additional task forces on subsea well control and oil spill response.
With regard to the moratorium, API said:
“The moratorium was an initial reaction to concerns about the safety of offshore oil and natural gas operations. However, an extended moratorium would have a tremendous impact on the nation’s energy security – and cause significant harm to the region of the country that was already suffering from the spill – without raising safety or improving industry procedures. With this ruling, our industry and its people can get back to work to provide Americans with the energy they need, and do it safely and without harming the environment.”
Editor’s note: The President’s knee jerk reaction is as hystercal as would be banning of air travel after a plane crash. There have been relatively few incidents regarding deep water drilling, and this should be kept in perspective. Obama’s hope was to use this as an environmental wedge against Big Oil.
You Already Know This – OPINION
June 14, 2010
Lynn Woolsey called for a “progressive resurgence” in a Hill blog article today. Who the heck does she think got us to this horrible mess in the first place? Look who has been running government for the past 3+ years! Besides, there really hasn’t been time to have a real conservative resurgence… yet. Maybe she is looking into the future and what November will bring.
The problem with progressivism is that, just because it sounds like a good idea doesn’t mean the federal government should be doing it or spending money on it. After all, their track record of success is pretty bleak no matter how noble they think their causes are.
The original founders saw the USA as a collection of individual countries (states) united under one limited federal government so that we would not end up where we are today; top down central planning. Instead they saw a country with a small federal government and strong state governments. Yet here we are 234 years after the Declaration of Independence, and we are exactly where they feared we would be; huge federal government (much more powerful than King George was?), unbridled deficit spending, freedoms being incrementally taken away in the name of “fairness” and religion kicked to the curb (unless you are a Muslim extremist). How did this happen? Over time, that’s how.
There is only so much bandwidth and money with which to tackle all the unconstitutional laws that have been passed over the years. And then our congressmen use those bad laws which survive to serve as precedents upon which to write more bad laws. This is the reason for the Constitution. It is a measuring stick by which laws are to be written (or not). But with Federal Judges seeing it as a “living, breathing document” they have twisted the Constitution to mean something other than what was originally intended. So it would seem the problem with progressivism is that in top down planning everyone must do it the same way regardless if it’s a good idea or not. Where’s the freedom? Besides that, it is not “constitutional”.
The original idea was that each state was a unique experiment free to try different things to see what worked to solve their challenges. It was even codified in the 10th Amendment in case the original version of the Constitution didn’t make that clear. It says, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
Obama and Progressives call this a “negative” right. Actually, it is exactly right (correct)… period. Each state government was supposed to decide for itself how it should be run. They could then look to other states and see what worked in order to implement or improve upon those which their constituents found favorable. Not so today. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find any area in any state that didn’t come under the rule of some bureau of the federal government.
The original purpose of the Federal Government was to solve disputes and problems which crossed state lines. Read George Washington’s biography and you will learn that he viewed the federal government as a necessary evil and loathed the thought of it. He knew what “progressives” would do if given half a chance.
Examples of the founders intent for responsibilities of Federal government would be building and maintaining bridges between bordering states, or regulating commerce on shared waterways that touch several states. Two of the things the federal government is actually supposed to do, defending our borders or protecting our freedom overseas, are the same things Progressives complain about spending money on. They say we should be spending the money here on infrastructure or education. As in debt as we are, we probably shouldn’t be spending the money anywhere!
If you want to see the failures of progressivism you only need to look at states like Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Hawaii or California and cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit, etc. to see that the progressive experiment doesn’t work. High crime and high unemployment are the norm for liberal bastions such as these. Yet what happens when Lynn Woolsey talks about how we need a progressive resurgence? Socialist ideologues come out of the woodwork and praise her, even though she and her buddies have spent us into the poor house thanks to progressives. Those people will never be persuaded to see the truth.
It is my belief that the majority of people in this area are liberal because they can afford to be. Things are pretty good for many people in Marin County. Fortunately, the high unemployment rate in California hasn’t really hit the San Francisco Bay Area yet… yet. Does that mean we should wait until it gets worse before we do something? Unlike an Obama administration spokesperson, we are not looking for a crisis to use to our advantage. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that to change people’s minds.
What we must do is seek out the reasonable Democrats, the patriotic ones who love our country and believe the party has left them, and turn them to our side like Reagan did. There are common sense, patriotic people on the other side who don’t like what their Democratic Party has become. They may not change parties, but they can be persuaded to vote for a candidate who wants to lower taxes to stimulate the economy and help businesses create jobs, among other ideals that will truly embody progress.
- FedUpEditor
API response to the president’s offshore development announcement
June 5, 2010
API’s President and CEO Jack Gerard has issued a statement in response to President Obama’s decision to delay and/or cancel offshore development projects and leases. Jack says, “Decisions that impact the industry’s ability to produce the oil and natural gas… will affect the lives of every citizen, every day.” The full statement is available here.
Jane Van Ryan
American Petroleum Institute
Liberal Papers, Marin IJ and Press Democrat Support Halliwell – Judd is Favorite of Conservatives!
June 2, 2010
It’s no surprise that liberal papers like the Marin Independent Journal and Santa Rosa’s Press Democrat have thrown their support behind Mike Halliwell, a two time loser to unseat Woolsey. However, conservatives and business people have thrown support behind newcomer Jim Judd in hopes of making real change that will bring back conservative values in northern California!
Here is an Editorial from the PD and the link to it online
EDITOR: The Press Democrat’s recommendation of Mike Halliwell as the 6th District Republican primary choice is not a surprise considering what’s at stake come November (“A debate,” Editorial, Thursday).
This will present an opportunity for badly needed change to fight the flood of entitlement programs that have been and will continue to be foisted on a tax weary public, and we will need the leadership of a realist such as Jim Judd.
I’ve known and done business with Judd for more than 20 years and have seen this businessman guide his company through three recessions, including the current one. The “most conservative elements” that The Press Democrat pins on him are in fact the core values that have helped him manage this and that all Americans should possess: family, national pride and fiscal responsibility.
I’m sure Halliwell may have these same values along with some political experience, but his presentation of them has failed to unseat Woolsey the past two elections. Why throw this real chance for change under the political bus with the same old rhetoric?
Judd understands what has brought us into the liberal quagmire and has the leadership skills and understanding of what it will take to get us out of it with his real world views.
CHUCK HOWARD
Santa Rosa
Who’s To Blame?
May 24, 2010
There is an old saying, “Losers fix the blame; winners fix what caused the problem.” It is as true now as it has ever been.
Day in and day out we are being presented with stories about the oil leak in the Gulf with finger pointing as to who is to blame for it. Industry blames regulators, and regulators blame the various industry players; the players start blaming each other. Why isn’t the environmental lobby being implicated? After all, if it weren’t for their strict no-drilling policy in other “safe” places, would we have to go so far off-shore to retrieve oil with dangerous deep-water drilling techniques? The answer, of course, is no.
But put all that aside. Just because there have been a few disasters related to oil production, refining and transport, does that mean we should stop drilling altogether like Arnold Schwarzenegger has concluded? With that same logic, any time a plane goes down, we would discontinue air travel. It is as stupid and predictable as those anti-gun zealots who think crime will stop if we ban firearms. All or nothing.
And if we stop drilling, does that mean the rest of the world stops drilling? No! In fact, other countries are ramping up their domestic oil production because we are not. Seeing us as the suckers we are, they know there is no other alternative energy source right now, and they have leverage over us.
Lynn Woolsey is leading the charge against big oil and big coal. Google reported many news stories over the last couple of days mentioning her name and quoting her, not like the lame representative she is, but as if she is riding in on her white horse to save us all. Her committees have been especially harsh on these two industries because of the recent problems; the mining disaster and the oil spill in the gulf. It’s almost as if Woolsey thinks she can legislate our way to never having another disaster or another lost life. Could this be considered a “God” complex? After all, she has been in the House so long I’m sure she thinks she is invincible. I hear she is so confident (or is that arrogant?) that she will not campaign here this fall, but will go out and help other Democrats get elected. Is she counting her chickens? But I am getting off my point.
Let me ask a few questions of Lynn Woolsey. If everyone starts running electric vehicles like you propose, where will the electricity come from? Have you thought that far ahead to consider that California has brown outs almost every summer as it is? Are you offering any alternative solutions to producing electricity in our state or in the nation? You talk about wind and solar as if they are our salvation. But I hear environmentalists are against putting solar panels in the desert to preserve its pristine beauty. That would make wind farms out of the question as well. How do you, Ms. Woolsey, propose to supply our country’s energy needs? Get back to me after we put you out on your rear end this November.
Now let’s look at our President. We are 18 months into his presidency, and Obama is still pointing to the failures of the previous administration for our woes today. It is wearing thin, as polls show. For Heaven’s sake, he has had more than enough time to do at least ONE thing right, but day after day he continues to lay blame and make excuses. The only solutions he has are to raise taxes, spend more money, create more government welfare and pass the buck. Is that what we want from our leaders?
I, for one, am tired of it. I know most of you are too. So is the country, and polls show there will be a huge surge to the right in November if the trend continues. Dick Morris says we stand to pick up 10 Senate seats (including California where he thinks Boxer is especially vulnerable to Chuck DeVore). This is because people are tired of the blame game.
No matter how you dress it up, people are waking up to the fact that government, you know, the ones who caused these problems, are certainly not the ones to solve them. If anything, people are learning that actually solving problems is not in the government’s best interest. Only saying they are going to solve them is business as usual. Barney Frank and Chris Dodd can blame whomever they want for the housing crisis, but they should be pointing into the mirror when doing so. Let’s send them back to the Minor League this Fall.
- FedUpEditor
Graham, Lieberman and Kerry Want ANOTHER GAS TAX!
May 12, 2010
Editor’s note: Maybe we should have a tea party so they know we are taxed enough already… wait! We already have! Are they listening? NO. Graham, Kerry and Lieberman ALL must go! These three will be up for re-election in 2012. Then we will CLEAN HOUSE!
Today, Congress once again ignored what Americans want and introduced a new gasoline tax as part of a global warming bill that also contains a cap and trade energy tax on utilities. The section on the gas tax begins on p. 361.
Introduced by Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT), this bill requires American oil companies to pay a fee to the government for their global warming emissions.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who helped craft the gas tax, admitted the fee “will be passed on” to motorists in the form of higher gasoline prices.
But Senators Kerry and Lieberman are offended that any American would dare call it a gas tax.
Don’t be fooled. This is a government requirement that will increase the cost of gasoline. It’s a tax. So not only will we have to pay more for gas, we have the added insult of Senators insisting that what we can plainly see as a new gas tax is not actually a gas tax.
The American people know better. And according to an American Solutions poll, 71% of Americans oppose this new gas tax, even if politicians are insisting it is not a gas tax.
In addition, this bill creates a cap and trade system that will dramatically increase the cost of residential and commercial electricity prices.
Even the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says cap and trade will kill jobs and reduce American productivity.
With one bill, Congress will raise gasoline and electricity prices, raise the cost of energy, and kill jobs. This is not the way to create jobs and prosperity.
This bill is wrong for America. Will you help us defeat it?
We need to get information about this new tax to as many people as possible in the next 48 hours. Please visit our “Action Center” to forward your friends a special message about this gas tax.
Thank you,
Vince Haley
Vice-President of Policy
