Hey folks,
Yesterday I just caught wind of this pending legislation that
aims to put pressure on big oil companies to start drilling on over 60 million acres they currently lease from the US Federal
government for the purpose of oil drilling and exploration.
WHAT???!!!!!
According to big oil, they've been claiming that liberals and tree huggers won't let them drill in the US!
They've been using the Alaska Anwar issue as a smokescreen while they refuse to drill on land onshore and offshore that
is already cleared for that exclusive purpose, and that's already being leased by them! Let me repeat that if you didn't
catch it the first time:
US OIL COMPANIES ARE ALREADY CLEARED TO DRILL IN THE US ON OVER
60 MILLION ACRES OF FEDERAL LAND BOTH ONSHORE AND OFFSHORE, AND THEY ALREADY HAVE THE LEASES FOR THAT LAND!!!!! THE FEDERAL
GOVERNMENT IS NOW LOOKING AT LEGISLATION TO FORCE BIG OIL TO DRILL ON THIS LEASED LAND TO BOOST DOMESTIC PRODUCTION, OR THEY
MAY FACE PENALTIES, OR POSSIBLY EVEN LOSE THE LEASES!
So why is big oil not drilling on
this approved land? Because they like the idea of easy money! They'd rather keep prices artificially high by keeping world
production low. For them it's much easier to get oil on ships from the Middle East and other OPEC nations than to put
forth the time and effort to drill for oil here in the US!
Big oil has laid claim
to the fact that the feds won't let them drill here in the US, and that environmentalists have blocked all their efforts
to secure land for oil drilling and exploration. This is an outright lie, and US citizens need to call them out on it. They're
making the biggest profits in US history, but they won't increase drilling or build new refineries to ease the oil and
gas crisis here in our country.
We're worried about terrorists controlling oil production
in the Middle East? It looks to me as if US big oil has become a more realistic threat to our national security by pushing
our economy to the breaking point because of greed. Big oil is intentionally manipulating the markets and price gouging hard-working
Americans, and it's time that we wise up to the Anwar Smokescreen they've been hiding behind during this oil crisis.
Experts have already come to the consensus that oil drilling in Anwar would do little
to curb rising oil prices in the near future, but yet big oil has been using this controversial issue to conceal the fact
that they don't want to drill and increase domestic oil production.
I hope the US Congress can put some real
teeth in this bill, because this Anwar Smokescreen has gone on long enough!
Please read the following
email by the Democratic Caucus Communications Office to the press:
Legislation to Force Big Oil to Use Owned Leases Introduced Today
Thursday, June 12, 2008
To:
Reporters
From:
Democratic Caucus Communications Office
Re:
Legislation to Force Big Oil to Use Owned Leases Introduced Today
Earlier
today, Reps. Emanuel, Hinchey, Markey, Rahall, Welch and Yarmuth held a press conference to discuss legislation that will
compel oil companies to utilize the 68 million acres onshore and offshore that are being leased by big oil companies, but
not used to produce energy. Two pieces of legislation to achieve this goal were introduced today: the Responsible Ownership
of Public Lands Act and The Responsible Federal Oil and Gas Lease Act of 2008.
The Responsible Ownership of Public Lands Act would assess a fee on land energy companies have leased but are not
using for production. This fee will escalate if leases go unused over the course of several years. A dear colleague
letter regarding this bill is included below.
The Responsible Federal
Oil and Gas Lease Act of 2008 will bar oil and gas companies from obtaining any more leases unless they can demonstrate that
they are producing oil and gas, or are diligently developing the leases they already hold. A second dear colleague letter
regarding this bill is also included below.
Tell Big Oil to Produce
or Pay
Co-sponsor the Responsible Ownership of Public Lands Act
Current Cosponsors: Markey, Emanuel, Rahall, Hinchey, Chandler, Moran (VA), Shea-Porter,
Welch, Yarmuth
June 12, 2008
Dear Colleague:
Today, we will introduce the Responsible
Ownership of Public Lands Act. At a time when our constituents are paying $4 per gallon at the pump, the answer is to make
sure that oil companies are producing on the land they currently own. They need to either use it or lose it.
Our legislation will help lower gas prices by compelling oil companies to begin producing
oil and gas on the roughly 68 million acres of public land they currently hold but are not using. This legislation will also
invest in programs to develop renewable energy technologies to reduce our overall dependence on oil and help low-income consumers.
Oil companies are not producing oil or gas on the vast majority of federal land onshore
and offshore already under their control. Offshore, Big Oil is producing on only about 23 percent of the land they hold,
while onshore, companies are producing on roughly 27 percent of the acres to which they hold the drilling rights.
The Responsible Ownership of Public Lands Act will assess an escalating fee on land
that oil companies have leased but are not using for production. This fee would be a mere $5 per acre for the first
3 years that a lease is not producing, but increase to $25 per acre in the fourth year and $50 per acre in subsequent years,
providing a strong incentive for oil companies to stop stockpiling these leases and begin using them. The revenue raised from
these fees will go towards renewable energy and energy efficiency investments that will reduce our dependence on oil, as well
as the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
For more
information or to sign-on as an original cosponsor, please contact Morgan Gray (Markey) at 5-4012 or morgan.gray@mail.house.gov, Jonathan Levy (Emanuel) at 5-4061 or jonathan.levy@mail.house.gov, Steve Feldgus (Rahall) at 5-9297, or Anne Georges (Hinchey) at 5-6335 or anne.georges@mail.house.gov.
Sincerely,
/s
/s
Edward J. Markey
Rahm Emanuel
Member of Congress
Member of Congress
/s
/s
Nick J. Rahall, II
Maurice D. Hinchey
Member of Congress
Member of Congress
June 12, 2008
Message to Big Oil:
Use It Or Lose It!
Co-Sponsor H. R. 6251: The Responsible Federal
Oil and Gas Lease Act of 2008
Dear Colleague,
Companies could nearly double U.S. oil production from public lands and cut oil imports
by one-third if they started drilling and stop stockpiling leases to pad their profits. Today, companies possess nearly 10,000
permits to drill that they choose not to use to increase domestic production.
That is why we introduced legislation to compel companies to start producing the oil and gas Americans need.
H.R. 6251, “The Responsible Federal Oil and Gas Lease Act” would force oil and gas companies to either produce
or give up federal onshore and offshore leases. Companies would be banned from obtaining any more leases unless they
can demonstrate that they are producing oil and gas, or are diligently developing the leases they already hold. Similar--and
effective--rules already apply to coal companies.
Join us in putting
the spurs to the people who are in the business of getting us oil and gas—tell them to stop holding oil hostage, to
stop speculating on energy prices, and start helping Americans fill their tanks. Join us in co-sponsoring H.R. 6251,
“The Responsible Federal Oil and Gas Lease Act”.
For
more information, or to co-sponsor, please contact Committee on Natural Resources staff, Steve Feldgus (steve.feldgus@mail.house.gov) at 225-9297.
Sincerely,
Rep. Nick J. Rahall, II
Rep. Rahm Emanuel
Member of Congress
Member of Congress
Rep. Edward J. Markey
Rep. Maurice D. Hinchey
Member of Congress
Member of Congress
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Rep.
John A. Yarmuth
Member of Congress
