The BP oil spill has hit the headlines with great fervor and ferociousness, but it appears as though members of Congress just aren't sure how to handle it. Why? because we lack real, experienced leadership in Congress.On one hand, members of Congress and many candidates for Congress are nervous about speaking the truth out loud about the problem because there is hand-wringing about the possibility of losing campaign contributions from the energy sector. On the other hand, the environmentalist extremists are ranting and raving about shutting down all oil and natural gas exploration and members of Congress who are bought and paid for by the Greenpeace types are ducking for cover.
Where is the leadership? Oil is still spewing from the Deepwater Horizon and even Matt Simmons, Texas banker and oil industry expert has said that "There isn't enough money in the world to clean up the Gulf. Once BP realizes the extent of this, my guess is that they'll panic and go into Chapter 11." There is already over 6,000 state and federal lawsuits filed against BP and with each passing day, the reports are that the number increases.
This is a national disaster and members of Congress need to realize that eventually, the markets are going to respond and if BP files Chapter 11, we will be increasingly beholden to OPEC for crude oil imports. And let there be no mistake - OPEC is not our friend.
Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, has given a number of interviews about the problems but has shown no leadership whatsoever. Watching her vacillate back and forth makes me wonder why so many are intimidated by her. I am a Navy SEAL. There is no one in Congress who intimidates me.
So, what is the solution?
First, members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee must convene an emergency meeting immediately and call energy experts, biologists, geologists and engineers together and put together a "96 hour plan." In other words, identify resources to stop the disaster within a 96 hour time frame.
Second, the long term financial cost of this disaster will be billions and billions of dollars. Already, the ridiculous standards of the EPA has deterred clean up, limiting the materials used to absorb the crude oil. It's time to stop the EPA from tying the hands of engineers trying to do their job. The short term cost will be worth the long term economic disaster of the world's 4th largest company filing Chapter 11.
Third, we have to plan for the future. We have got to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and maximize the use of our natural resources right here in this great country. Yes, and that includes offshore exploration as well...and we need the energy sector to ensure safety measures and regulatory environments are much like those we have in the great state of Oklahoma.
Now is the time for us to fix the problem with the BP oil spill and do so with an eye toward the future. We need a diversified energy portfolio that utilizes one of Oklahoma's great resources, natural gas. We need leadership in Congress who is not in the hip pocket of any energy producer who will stand up and demand that we use all sources of American energy available to ensure our dependence upon foreign oil goes away or is greatly reduced.
That includes wind energy, solar power, nuclear power, natural gas, clean coal technology, and crude oil exploration in ANWR, utilization of amazing technologies to extract natural gas from shale formations and finally, cellulosic ethanol. And we can do it without government subsidies. We simply create a regulatory environment wherein there is a balance between environmental concerns and energy production.
With real leadership, we can accomplish this task. I am that leader. I have received no PAC money from any group, nor will I. When you elect me to Congress in November, you will be electing a man to Congress who understands fully that our nation's energy policy is a matter of national security. National security trumps special interests in my book, and that will never change. While some of the candidates in the 5th District are scrambling to garner more and more PAC money and more and more endorsements from a myriad of special interests, I am gathering support from the only "special interest" that really matters - voters in the 5th District.
Energy policy IS a matter of national security. Average Oklahomans understand this, why can't candidates for public office understand this? Well, I "get it." And when I get to Washington, so will the rest of Congress.
Dave
