Steve Pearce
Last week, a federal court once again ruled against the Obama Administration’s moratorium on offshore drilling that has paralyzed jobs since July. The moratorium, which has affected over 100 offshore drilling rigs and 33 deep-water platforms, has been estimated to have cost almost 100,000 jobs.
The Obama Administration, already ruled in contempt, has continued the moratorium despite prior rulings. U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman has described the regulators’ actions as “determined disregard.”
Their disregard is not only for the rule of law, but also for the thousands of unemployed men and women directly affected by unnecessary job-killing regulation.
Every policy has consequences. The consequences of this reckless policy are seen in the faces of the thousands of Americans who now wonder how to feed their families. BP should be held completely responsible for its actions, but in this time of crisis, America cannot afford to lose one single job.
Drilling platforms are not simply switches that can be turned on and off at will. They are workplaces, sources of livelihood and security for the thousands of Americans who were once employed there.
Feldman voiced concerns over the defiance shown by the moratorium’s continuation, but I am struck by its carelessness. It should not take a federal ruling to point out that taking away the incomes of thousands of families is simply wrong.
Across the nation, Americans have lost jobs in the industries that once fueled our economy. The farms in the San Joaquin Valley once fed our nation, but irresponsible regulations have put thousands of farmers there out of work. New Mexico once had 20,000 jobs in the timber industry. Today it has only a few.
I am working to introduce legislation to reverse the decisions that have cost our families so much. I will ask Congress to let our oil workers, our timber workers, and our farmers go back to work.
These bills are simple and straightforward. They only ask for what New Mexicans and Americans have always asked for: freedom. The freedom to feed their families, and to do their part in moving our country forward. It’s not complicated. It’s not controversial. It’s the right thing to do.
Americans need jobs, and we need a government that will protect those jobs. We are determined not to be disregarded.
Pearce, a Republican, represents New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District in Congress.