Offshore Energy and Jobs Act

Floor Speech

Mr. GIBBS. Mr. Speaker, as of today, 85 percent of the offshore areas have been blocked from offshore drilling by the Obama administration. The energy legislation on the floor this week makes significant strides towards increasing our offshore production.

Additional energy production contributes to lowering fuel prices at a time when gas prices are over 100 percent higher than when President Obama took office.

H.R. 2231, the Offshore Energy and Jobs Act, creates 1.2 million American jobs over the long term by removing Federal barriers to offshore energy production. According to the CBO, the legislation would also generate $1.5 billion in new Federal revenues over the 10-year period, which helps pay down our outrageous national debt.

This important legislation grows the economy and creates American jobs at a time of high unemployment and stagnant economic growth. Furthermore, it puts us on a path to energy independence and security by decreasing our dependence on foreign sources of energy.

We need to stand together to support this legislation that addresses our soaring gas prices and our sinking economy.

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