Democrats Want a Vacation from Energy Record While Families Have to Stay Put

Democrats Feign Interest in American-Made Energy, But Their Record Shows Otherwise

As Americans prepare to pay record amounts for their Memorial Day roadtrips, families are having to change their vacation plans because gas prices are threatening the family budget:

NATIONAL GAS PRICE AVERAGE: $3.81/GALLON, $1.03 more than a year ago.(“AAA’s Daily Fuel Gauge Report,” AAA, Accessed 5/25/2011)

FAMILIES AVOIDING MEMORIAL DAY TRAVEL: “The high price of gas will deter some people from driving over Memorial Day weekend, the traditional kickoff of summer in the United States, according to a national survey by AAA.… [T]he number of people who told AAA they would drive more than 50 miles from home slipped by 100,000 to 30.9 million.

“Forty percent of would-be travelers said that gas prices would have an impact on their vacation planning…” (Ashley Hasley III, “AAA Survey: Fewer Gas Trips Planner for Memorial Day Weekend,” The Washington Post, 5/20/2011)

It’s no wonder then, that President Obama’s EPA is scrambling to make it appear as if the Obama administration cares about increasing domestic energy production. EPA administrator Lisa Jackson Tuesday repeated a misleading claim that the Obama administration has increased oil production under their watch:

“Once gasoline prices started to rise and the administration’s reluctance to drill became an issue, officials boasted about oil production, and Jackson repeated that before committee members. ‘Last year, American oil production reached its highest level since 2003,’ she said.” (Jim Angle, “Tempers Flare at Hearing on EPA Policies,” Fox News, 5/24/2011)

In fact, the EPA’s record on domestic oil exploration is much less flattering.National Journal fact-checked Jackson’s claim when it was made by President Obama, pointing out that the White House is taking credit for policies enacted by former President George W. Bush:

FACT CHECK: IRONIC THAT OBAMA IS TAKING CREDIT FOR BUSH POLICIES:“He doesn’t want to admit it, but President Obama is taking credit for something George W. Bush did. …

“According to EIA’s short-term 2011 outlook, released last week, oil production was significantly higher in 2009 than in the years prior. Obama may have been in office for most of that year, but the oil production numbers are due to action taken before he became president. In 2010, most if not all of the production increase recorded is likely due to action that predates Obama, since Obama didn’t take any major action expanding offshore drilling his first year in office.” (Amy Harder, “Obama’s Fuzzy Oil Production Math,”National Journal, 3/17/2011)

Jackson neglected to mention the difference between new drilling on public and private lands during the Obama administration. Since 2009, new drilling has occurred overwhelmingly on private lands due to uncertainty and policies coming from the White House, while energy on public lands awaits exploration:

MUCH OF NEW PRODUCTION IS HAPPENING ON PRIVATE LANDS, NOT PUBLIC: “The [White House] blog post fails to explain that the vast majority of increased production is occurring on private lands, not public.  For example, North Dakota alone produced almost 120 million barrels of oil in 2010, compared to just over 20 million in 2003. The majority of North Dakota’s production is on private land.” (p. 32-33, “Rising Energy Costs: An Intentional Result of Government Action,” U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 5/23/2011)

PRODUCTION ON PUBLIC LANDS IS 16 PERCENT LOWER THAN EIA PROJECTED IN 2007: “In 2007, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) projected total 2010 U.S. oil production on federal lands to be 850 million barrels. Today’s actual production on federal lands is 714 million barrels, a 16 percent decline from what was projected. If it wasn’t for the Obama Administration, the U.S. would be producing more energy.” (“Fact-Checking the Obama Administration’s Energy Production Claims,” U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee, 3/14/2011)

Democrats have also created the fable that their delays in new energy permitting owe to the Gulf Oil spill in May 2010. But evidence shows that Obama’s permitting obstructionism dates all the way to the beginning of the administration:

DEMOCRATS RESCINDED PRIOR LEASES UPON WINNING WHITE HOUSE IN 2008: “Successful bidders also risk cancellation of their valid leases.  InFebruary 2009, the Interior Secretary withdrew 77 of the leases sold at the 2008 Utah lease sale because BLM had deviated ‘in important respects’ from its normal oil and gas leasing procedures. … Yet the Secretary’s decision to withdraw 77 Utah leases was made without any consultation with the Utah BLM office.” (p. 34, “Rising Energy Costs: An Intentional Result of Government Action,” U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 5/23/2011)

INTERIOR SECRETARY KEN SALAZAR DEFENDED RESCINDING LEASES AS A PRODUCT OF DIFFERENT “POLICY POSITIONS”: “Secretary Salazar told reporters at the time of the announcement, ‘The policy positions of the department over the last eight years have really been driven out of the White House, and we’re looking at many of those decisions.’” (Juliet Epstein, “Salazar Voids Drilling Leases On Public Lands in Utah,” The Washington Post, 2/5/2009)

INTERIOR DEPARTMENT PERMITS NORMALLY TAKE FAR LONGER THAN THE 30 DAY LEGAL REQUIREMENT: “The Department of Interior’s next opportunity to delay production on the land is the permitting process.  After receiving project approval, the producer may file an Application for Permit to Drill (APD). Under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, BLM has thirty days to process an APD.  However, by its own conservative estimate, BLM averages 206 days to process a permit. In some BLM field offices, permits can take over two years.” (p. 37, “Rising Energy Costs: An Intentional Result of Government Action,” U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 5/23/2011)