By Gary Bauer
Campaign for Working Families
When it comes to job growth and securing America's energy needs, leftists just don't get it. At a press conference on job creation last week, Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ) was asked about the potential of new jobs through expanded offshore oil drilling. His response: "…drilling for oil off the coast is a problem, not a solution… I wouldn't vote for it because I think it's a poor idea."
Rarely does the ignorance of liberals surprise me, but Rep. Andrews achieved a rare feat with that stunning display of stupidity. America's energy industry is responsible for the creation of more than nine million jobs in this country. If the bureaucrats and liberals like Andrews would get out of the way, it could create a lot more!
While Andrews was bashing energy jobs, USA Today featured a story about the economic miracle taking place in North Dakota, where the unemployment rate is the nation's lowest at just 4.5%. How has North Dakota defied the trend during Obama's recession? According to USA Today: "North Dakota is enjoying an oil boom in the western part of the state, drawing workers from across the country."
Contrast North Dakota's success to the pain the administration is inflicting on the Gulf Coast. Dr. Joseph Mason of Louisiana State University testified before Congress last week on the impact of the Obama Administration's moratorium on offshore drilling. According to Dr. Mason, Obama's moratorium has cost 13,000 jobs in Gulf states, another 6,000 jobs nationally and more than $1 billion in lost wages.
If that's not enough damage, Obama's EPA last week imposed new regulations on coal-fired power plants. Half of America's electricity comes from coal plants, but a report from Credit Suisse bank last year found that these regulations could force nearly 20% of America's coal-fired power plants to shut down. Even many labor unions are getting upset by this administration's radical overregulation.
But at least Barack Obama does have some good news for oil workers. He is backing, with your tax dollars, a major new drilling project -- in Brazil! In an op-ed last week defending his Latin American trip, Obama wrote, "Brazil holds recently discovered oil reserves that could be far larger than ours, and as we seek to increase secure-energy supplies, we look forward to developing a strategic energy partnership."
Rather than promoting job growth in Brazil, we should develop secure-energy supplies by developing our own tremendous domestic energy reserves. Unfortunately, when it comes to energy policy and job growth, Democrats just don't get it.
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