Leadership and Crisis, by Gov. Bobby Jindal: on Energy & Oil


Barack Obama: De-facto moratorium on shallow as well as deepwater drilling

Along with the official moratorium on deep-water drilling, the Obama administration had a de facto moratorium on shallow-water drilling. Before the BP spill, federal authorities regularly issued permits to drill in shallow water. After the spill, the issued permits reduced to a trickle. Most of these shallow-water operators were not a part of "big oil"---they were small, independent producers. Their operations in, say, 200 feet of water had nothing to do with what happened at Deepwater Horizons.
Source: Leadership and Crisis, by Bobby Jindal, p. 20 Nov 15, 2010

Bobby Jindal: Drilling moratorium was second disaster after BP spill

I told the president that the oil moratorium amounted to a second man-made disaster. And my message was simple: Louisianans shouldn't lose their jobs because the federal government can't do its job. Our belief is that federal officials should spend their energies on getting serious about more rigorous oversight and inspection of oil rigs rather than punishing workers. The experts picked by the federal government made dozens of specific recommendations to improve safety. Experts have recommended (and we have supported): a temporary pause, redundant blowout preventer equipment, federal inspectors on every rig, inspections of the safety records of each company and each rig, etc. Louisianans, of all people, don't want to see another drop of oil spilled int the Gulf of Mexico or another tragic loss of life.

The president went on to assure me that anyone who lost their job would get a check from BP. I was amazed by the level of disconnect. The people of Louisiana want to work, not collect BP checks.

Source: Leadership and Crisis, by Bobby Jindal, p. 21-22 Nov 15, 2010

Bobby Jindal: Develop any & all methods of producing energy

What may surprise you is that along with being a big supporter of fossil fuels, I'm also a big proponent of developing any and all methods of producing energy, in order to make America energy independent.

Liberals need to accept that fossil fuels are critical to our national security and to our economy, and that they can be developed in an environmentally responsible way. Conservatives, for our part, need to do more than simply shout "Drill, baby, drill"--we need to aggressively pursue the next generation of renewable and clean energy production technologies.

Republicans seem instinctively to oppose cultivating energy sources favored by the environmental movement, such as solar and wind power. Likewise, Democrats often stridently oppose the expansion of traditional energy sources such as oil, coal, and nuclear power. Here's an idea: how about we do it all? That's not a Republican or Democrat solution. That's an American solution.

Source: Leadership and Crisis, by Bobby Jindal, p.199-201 Nov 15, 2010

Bobby Jindal: Cap-and-trade is a jobs bill for other countries

The liberal attack on fossil fuels doesn't even make sense in the context of global warming--destroying our domestic energy production and manufacturing base and expanding our jobs abroad won't cut the world's carbon emissions. In fact, these jobs will go to countries like Mexico, China, & India, while more of our oil and natural gas will come from countries like Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, & Russia--all of which have much weaker environmental laws than we do. Do you really think a smokestack in Tijuana will produce fewer emissions than one in San Diego?

Keep that in mind next time you hear the Democrats' proposals for a "cap and trade" scheme. In addition to increasing utility costs of homeowners, charging our own companies for releasing carbon will provoke a lot of them simply to relocate to countries that don't charge these fees. Still, at least the Democrats' rhetoric is honest on this issue. Cap and trade IS a jobs bill--for other countries. It is a win/win--for the rest of the world

Source: Leadership and Crisis, by Bobby Jindal, p.209 Nov 15, 2010

Jimmy Carter: 1970s windfall taxes reduced domestic production

Some in Washington want to punish oil companies through so-called "windfall taxes." They forget their history. Jimmy Carter tried a similar approach back in the 1970s, with the predictable result that domestic production fell and our reliance on foreign oil grew. For a lot of reasons, American oil production has already declined from 9.2 million barrels a day in 1973 to 5 million barrels a day in 2007. A basic rule of economics is that if you want less of something, just tax it more.
Source: Leadership and Crisis, by Bobby Jindal, p.210 Nov 15, 2010

Ted Kennedy: OpEd: Opposes Cape Wind on NIMBY grounds

Wind energy requires enormous landmass--the land covered by a wind power station needs to be about 2,000 times bigger than a nuclear plant to generate the same amount of electricity. While there are some suitable locations for wind farms in small pockets of the Midwest, West, and Southwest, there are relatively few good areas in the eastern half of the United States.

Even where a good location exists, green energy projects are often opposed by their supposed liberal champions. A case in point is the windmill project off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, that was opposed by members of the Kennedy family who reportedly didn't want the view spoiled from their nearby compound. After eight years of lawsuits and government studies, the federal government finally approved the project in May 2010. Liberals may support green energy in theory, but in practice they all too often shout NIMBY--Not in My Backyard.

Source: Leadership and Crisis, by Bobby Jindal, p.204 Nov 15, 2010

  • The above quotations are from Leadership and Crisis,
    by Bobby Jindal.
  • Click here for definitions & background information on Energy & Oil.
  • Click here for other issues (main summary page).
  • Click here for more quotes by Bobby Jindal on Energy & Oil.
  • Click here for more quotes by Kathleen Blanco on Energy & Oil.
Candidates and political leaders on Energy & Oil:

Retiring Senate as of Jan. 2015:
GA:Chambliss(R)
IA:Harkin(D)
MI:Levin(D)
MT:Baucus(D)
NE:Johanns(R)
OK:Coburn(R)
SD:Johnson(D)
WV:Rockefeller(D)

Resigned from 113th House:
AL-1:Jo Bonner(R)
FL-19:Trey Radel(R)
LA-5:Rod Alexander(R)
MA-5:Ed Markey(D)
MO-9:Jo Ann Emerson(R)
NC-12:Melvin Watt(D)
SC-1:Tim Scott(R) 		Retiring House to run for Senate or Governor:
AR-4:Tom Cotton(R)
GA-1:Jack Kingston(R)
GA-10:Paul Broun(R)
GA-11:Phil Gingrey(R)
HI-1:Colleen Hanabusa(D)
IA-1:Bruce Braley(D)
LA-6:Bill Cassidy(R)
ME-2:Mike Michaud(D)
MI-14:Gary Peters(D)
MT-0:Steve Daines(R)
OK-5:James Lankford(R)
PA-13:Allyson Schwartz(D)
TX-36:Steve Stockman(R)
WV-2:Shelley Capito(R) 		Retiring House as of Jan. 2015::
AL-6:Spencer Bachus(R)
AR-2:Tim Griffin(R)
CA-11:George Miller(D)
CA-25:Howard McKeon(R)
CA-33:Henry Waxman(D)
CA-45:John Campbell(R)
IA-3:Tom Latham(R)
MN-6:Michele Bachmann(R)
NC-6:Howard Coble(R)
NC-7:Mike McIntyre(D)
NJ-3:Jon Runyan(R)
NY-4:Carolyn McCarthy(D)
NY-21:Bill Owens(D)
PA-6:Jim Gerlach(R)
UT-4:Jim Matheson(D)
VA-8:Jim Moran(D)
VA-10:Frank Wolf(R)
Please consider a donation to OnTheIssues.org!
Click for details -- or send donations to:
1770 Mass Ave. #630, Cambridge MA 02140
E-mail: submit@OnTheIssues.org
(We rely on your support!)

Page last updated: Feb 06, 2014