Johanns Opposes Obama Delay On Drilling

Press Release

Don Walton - Lincoln Journal Star

Sen. Mike Johanns voiced concern Thursday about Obama administration decisions to cancel or delay domestic oil and gas drilling near Utah's canyon country and offshore.

Those decisions by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar point energy policy "in a direction concerning to me," Johanns said during a telephone conference call from Washington.

Increased domestic drilling should be "part of the mix," Johanns said, just as renewable energy and biofuels should be included in the energy portfolio.

Oil company profits have reached historic highs, Johanns said, and "we have a right to insist on reinvestment for exploration."

Salazar's decisions earlier this month reversed actions taken by the Bush administration during its closing days.

The interior secretary put a hold on the Bush proposal to offer five-year leases to drill for oil and gas in the Outer Continental Shelf by adding six months to an abbreviated public comment period.

"It was a headlong rush of the worst kind," Salazar said.

"It was a process tilted toward the usual energy players while renewable energy companies and the interests of American consumers and taxpayers were overlooked."

Salazar canceled leases for oil and gas drilling on dozens of parcels of land in Utah that were put up for bid in December.

Johanns said additional domestic drilling ought to be undertaken "in an environmentally sensitive way."

Energy policy needs to be "more than renewables," he said.

On other matters, Johanns said he expects to vote no on the revised economic stimulus package negotiated by Senate and House conferees.

The $790 billion plan represents "a staggering amount of money financed through debt," he said.

"It's hard to imagine we create many jobs" with that package, Johanns said.

It would have been better to focus on lower interest rates for home mortgages and tax reductions, he said.

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