McConnell Extorts Senate For Off Shore Drilling

Stop the Senate. Mitch McConnell has called to block all bills before the Senate if Democrats block offshore drilling. Now isn’t that smart, block legislation that can impact Americans now and push for a bill whose product will not be seen for 10 years. Yes, the republican way of doing business, tell the public half truths, if your lucky, to accomplish nothing. Let’s not forget that this is an election year, and the GOP Senate is using fear mongering to get their way on off shore drilling. That’s right, according to McConnell “This is the biggest issue since terrorism, right after 9/11.”

Senate Republicans have threatened to block nearly all other bills pending before the August recess if Democrats refuse to vote with them on expanding offshore drilling.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said bills that do not pertain to energy can wait until after the August recess, with gas prices now surpassing $4 per gallon.

McConnell and top Republicans indicated Wednesday they would oppose any procedural votes to take up other legislation, which require 60 votes to succeed.

“We think there is nothing more important that we can do right now than to deal with the Number One issue of the country,” McConnell said. “This is the biggest issue since terrorism right after 9/11. People are pounding on their desks, saying, ‘Why don’t these people get together and do something about this problem’?”

The hardball tactics reflect Republican confidence that they can pull off a major election-year victory with gas prices at record highs, after they have been battered at the polls and have lost on several recent high-profile legislative battles.

As gas prices continue to rise, Republicans believe that off shore drilling is the magic bullet. Once again, the GOP is dead wrong. Studies have been done, the analysis is complete, experts have stated over and over again that off shore drilling will not help Americas problem with fossil fuel. Also, oil goes on the world market as a world product, so the U.S. will not recognize oil independence, nor will the U.S. see a significant drop in prices at the pump.

According to the Energy Information Agency; Official Energy Statistics From the U.S. Government;

The projections in the OCS access case indicate that access to the Pacific, Atlantic, and eastern Gulf regions would not have a significant impact on domestic crude oil and natural gas production or prices before 2030. Leasing would begin no sooner than 2012, and production would not be expected to start before 2017. Total domestic production of crude oil from 2012 through 2030 in the OCS access case is projected to be 1.6 percent higher than in the reference case, and 3 percent higher in 2030 alone, at 5.6 million barrels per day. For the lower 48 OCS, annual crude oil production in 2030 is projected to be 7 percent higher—2.4 million barrels per day in the OCS access case compared with 2.2 million barrels per day in the reference case (Figure 20). Because oil prices are determined on the international market, however, any impact on average wellhead prices is expected to be insignificant.

Similarly, lower 48 natural gas production is not projected to increase substantially by 2030 as a result of increased access to the OCS. Cumulatively, lower 48 natural gas production from 2012 through 2030 is projected to be 1.8 percent higher in the OCS access case than in the reference case. Production levels in the OCS access case are projected at 19.0 trillion cubic feet in 2030, a 3-percent increase over the reference case projection of 18.4 trillion cubic feet. However, natural gas production from the lower 48 offshore in 2030 is projected to be 18 percent (590 billion cubic feet) higher in the OCS access case (Figure 21). In 2030, the OCS access case projects a decrease of $0.13 in the average wellhead price of natural gas (2005 dollars per thousand cubic feet), a decrease of 250 billion cubic feet in imports of liquefied natural gas, and an increase of 360 billion cubic feet in natural gas consumption relative to the reference case projections. In addition, despite the increase in production from previously restricted areas after 2012, total natural gas production from the lower 48 OCS is projected generally to decline after 2020.

Mitch McConnell should actually be telling everyone the real reason for this blocking maneuver, and the GOP’s push for off shore drilling. It has absolutely nothing to do with bringing prices down, or for American’s to stop being depending on foreign oil. It has everything to do with profits that big oil companies will make over the next 30 years.

Instead, Mitch McConnell would rather blow smoke up the preverbial American arse.

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