This energy bill is just a show. Billions lost to sloppy monitoring of the oil and gas industry, is not.
Peace and Love,
Rev O
EDITORIAL Los Angeles Times Forget offshore drilling. There's sex, lost billions and big conflicts of interest in the Interior Department. |
"House Democrats' push for expanded offshore oil and gas drilling was more about electoral positioning than drilling, aimed at convincing voters that the party shares their pain at the pump. In fact, increased drilling and exploration would have no short-term effect on prices and very little long-term impact. Federal legislators would be better off devising ways to get the government's full share of oil and gas royalties and cleaning up the Interior Department, including staffers' cozy personal -- and we mean cozy and personal -- relationships with industry representatives.
The legislation that the House passed Tuesday would expand drilling but would let states decide whether to permit it 50 miles offshore. Even if the bill ultimately fails, Democrats would be able to tell their constituents that they favored more offshore drilling but were blocked by the GOP. The Republicans, meanwhile, would be able to tell the story of how they killed the bill because they wanted more drilling than the opposition."
The legislation that the House passed Tuesday would expand drilling but would let states decide whether to permit it 50 miles offshore. Even if the bill ultimately fails, Democrats would be able to tell their constituents that they favored more offshore drilling but were blocked by the GOP. The Republicans, meanwhile, would be able to tell the story of how they killed the bill because they wanted more drilling than the opposition."
"A report last week from the Government Accountability Office found that the Interior Department is so sloppy about monitoring oil and gas production that taxpayers might be losing out on billions of dollars in royalties."
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