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Politicians have a knack for citing statistics that support their positions. Those who are opposed to increasing domestic supplies of energy are especially adept at citing statistics that make it seem as though it is “not worth it.” Government reports, while not all wrong, can be rife with such statistics. Recently, for example, some have pointed an Energy Information Administration (EIA) report that estimated the amount of oil we could produce on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) if the drilling ban were lifted. EIA estimated this to be approximately 200,000 barrels per day. 1 Unfortunately, this figure – and the...

July 26, 2008, 0:00 a.m. Common CentsHigh gas prices encourage a step back from enviro-lunacy. By Michael Barone Sometimes public opinion doesn’t flow smoothly; it shifts sharply when a tipping point is reached. Case in point: gas prices. Three-dollar-per-gallon gas didn’t change anybody’s mind about energy issues. Four-dollar-per-gallon gas did. Evidently, the experience of paying more than $50 for a tankful gets people thinking we should stop worrying so much about global warming and the environmental dangers of oil wells on the outer continental shelf and in Alaska. Drill now! Nuke the caribou! Our system of divided government and...

Following are the remarks President Bush made at Tuesday's White House news conference about energy issues.To help address the pressure on gasoline prices my administration took action this week to clear the way for offshore exploration on the Outer Continental Shelf. It's what's called OCS. Congress has restricted access to key parts of the OCS since the early 1980s; I've called on Congress to remove the ban. There was also an executive prohibition on offshore exploration. So yesterday, I issued a memorandum to lift this executive prohibition. With this action, the executive branch's restrictions have been removed, and this means...

The consequences for federal restrictions on oil and gas exploration go beyond just higher gas prices, interfering with the basic free-market principle of allowing enterprise to meet demand by providing a supply, according to former Shell Oil CEO John Hofmeister. Hofmeister, who is the founder and CEO of the recently-formed advocacy group Citizens for Affordable Energy, appeared on CNBC’s July 15 “Squawk Box.” He criticized government for 30 years of inaction. “I think if you look at it in real time – looking at it in this month, next month, the following month, the answer is no – it’s not...

That was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's catchphrase last week as she continued to grope for an energy policy. One of her ideas was to request "a small drawdown" in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, no irony intended. At least President Bush has finally called the Speaker's bluff by rescinding the 1990 executive ban on offshore energy exploration. With Mr. Bush's belated decision yesterday, Congress's moratorium on offshore drilling is now the last major political barrier to increasing domestic oil-and-gas production. Yet Democratic leaders have refused to schedule even a single hearing on the topic. House Appropriations Chairman David Obey recently shut...

Rising energy prices have prompted President George to rescind an executive order enacted by his father and extended by President Bill Clinton to ban offshore drilling. “The time for action is now,” President George W. Bush said in a Rose Garden speech Monday afternoon. A memorandum signed by the President rescinds former President George H.W. Bush’s 1990 executive order drafted in response to pressure from the environmental lobby after a 3 million gallon oil spill off the coast of California in 1969. The current President Bush argued “advances in technology have made it possible to have the oil production out...

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Monday that he would not allow a vote on an amendment giving states new authority to seek oil off their coasts when he brings a Democratic energy bill to the floor later this month.Reid criticized President Bush’s announcement earlier in the day to rescind a longstanding executive order banning offshore oil drilling, saying it was a gift to the oil companies that are not exploring for oil in 68 millions of acres available to them. Republicans are now pressuring Democrats to rescind a congressional moratorium prohibiting the practices and give states the option...

In his radio address [Saturday] morning, President Bush went after the Democrats on energy: The fundamental problem behind high gas prices is that the supply of oil has not kept up with the rising demand across the world. One obvious solution is for America to increase our domestic oil production. So my Administration has repeatedly called on Congress to open access to new oil exploration here in the United States. Unfortunately, Democrats on Capitol Hill have rejected virtually every proposal. Now Americans are paying the price at the pump for this obstruction. So this week, I asked Democratic congressional leaders...

For Immediate ReleaseOffice of the Press SecretaryJune 21, 2008 President's Radio Address   President's Radio Address  Audio  En Español       In Focus: Energy THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. Americans are concerned about the high price of gasoline. Everyone who commutes to work, purchases food, ships a product, or takes a family vacation feels the burden of higher prices at the pump. And families across our country are looking to Washington for a response. The fundamental problem behind high gas prices is that the supply of oil has not kept up with the rising demand across the world. One obvious solution is for America...

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/florida/election_2008_florida_presidential_election Rasmussen Reports conducted a special Florida survey to measure the immediate impact of the offshore drilling issue on the Presidential race. As one part of the survey, respondents were told that McCain favored offshore drilling and said it would bring down the price of gas and oil. They were also told that Barack Obama opposed offshore drilling and said it would not bring down the price of gas and oil. After hearing the views of both McCain and Obama, most Florida voters agreed with McCain--61% said it was likely that offshore drilling would reduce gas prices. Only 34% disagreed...

Turns out McCain’s offshore drilling proposal is a big winner in Florida. Voters also believe (unlike Obama) 61% to 34% that drilling will reduce the price of gas. That is because voters in Florida are not all retarded and understand the law of supply and demand.

President Bush called yesterday for lifting the 27-year-old ban on U.S. offshore oil drilling, joining Sen. John McCain in endorsing an idea that Republicans hope will gain traction in Congress and on the campaign trail as the price of gasoline soars. In a Rose Garden appearance, the president challenged Democrats to drop their "obstruction" of proposals to expand domestic energy production.

As gas prices increase, Congress is feeling more and more pressures from its constituencies to explore for oil in areas that are off-limits, including the Outer Continental Shelf and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Many politicians in Washington, D.C. oppose those efforts due to environmental concerns, but House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on June 12 he’s not opposed to drilling, but said oil companies aren’t using the leases they have. “Well, there’s nothing wrong with drilling,” Hoyer said. “But the fact of the matter is we have 80 percent of the leases that...

Iraqi officer candidates negotiate the IMAR obstacle course. Official British Ministry of Defence photo. BAGHDAD -- Training new officer cadets for the Iraqi Armed Forces takes considerable time, resources and a dedicated training staff, and no segment of the yearlong training is more important than selection. The selection process at Iraqi Military Academy al Rustamiyah takes place three times a month, and each session lasts four days. Personnel from the NATO Training Mission-Iraq, including a number of British Armed Forces personnel, support and advise Iraqi Academy staff in running what is a very demanding selection process. The process involves...

AP: Do you support drilling for oil in Alaska? Please explain your answer. CASEY: No. Drilling in the arctic will, at most, yield only a small amount of oil at a very high environmental cost. The U.S. can't drill its way to energy independence. We need a comprehensive policy approach that makes us more energy independent, not the Bush-Santorum policy that just gives more handouts to Big Oil. SANTORUM: I believe that we should take an approach to environmental policy that balances the needs of conservation with those of our economy. Exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican leaders in the U.S. Senate have struck a deal with key party members including Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida that would allow the chamber to vote on opening the eastern Gulf of Mexico to energy exploration, Senate aides said on Wednesday. Sen. Pete Domenici, chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, is pressing for a vote this month on a plan that would develop the Outer Continental Shelf off Florida, including a controversial area known as "Lease Sale 181." Domenici and Martinez met with Majority Leader Bill Frist on Tuesday, and have struck a deal that will...

Democrats' New Direction: Same as the Old Direction By Herman CainHouse and Senate Democratic leaders held a press conference on June 16 to announce their bold, new policy initiatives in a plan called New Direction. Their accompanying press statement promises, "Democrats are ready with a New Direction, with policies to address the real challenges Americans face every day." Their idea of the "real challenges Americans face every day" does not include fighting and winning the global war on terrorism, restructuring the Social Security and Medicare programs, rewriting the income tax code or cutting federal spending, because none of those issues...

In 1974, U.S. Sen. Roman Hruska of Nebraska argued, "There are a lot of mediocre people. They're entitled to a little representation, aren't they?" Fortunately, Congress rejected Hruska's appeal for mediocrity on the Supreme Court. Unfortunately, ongoing "debates" on energy policy suggest that mediocre people are over-represented in today's Senate and House of Representatives. U.S crude oil output has declined 43 percent since 1985 as demand increased by 31 percent — and imports have skyrocketed to 58 percent of the oil we use (compared to 28 percent just prior to the 1973 OPEC oil embargo). Meanwhile, China and India's booming...

Summer is just around the corner. It is a time when families should be packing up their cars or minivans and heading out to a beach, national park or other destination for their annual vacation. But with gas prices skyrocketing and no decrease in sight, our nation’s interstates may be less traveled this summer by families who just can’t afford to be on the road. Unfortunately, high gas prices are affecting a lot more than beach vacationing. Farmers and ranchers are feeling the pinch from fuel and natural gas prices. And since producers are price takers and not price makers,...