By Alan Cobb, Americans For Prosperity — Kansas. From The Topeka Capital-Journal, Saturday, November 01, 2008
On Oct. 1, Congress did nothing. And we at Americans for Prosperity — Kansas applaud it. By not acting to renew it, lawmakers allowed the ban on offshore drilling and oil shale recovery to expire.
This first step, albeit a baby step, toward reducing our nation’s reliance on foreign oil by permitting U.S. companies to explore and drill for oil along our coastlines and in our western states will help reduce energy costs and increase energy security.
Congress doing nothing about offshore oil drilling Oct. 1 may just be the biggest something lawmakers have done to date in crafting the comprehensive energy policy so badly needed by our nation. When Congress continues its work on energy it is critical it again does nothing to raise energy taxes or create new ones.
Let me borrow from the medical community for a cautionary message to Congress: First, do no harm. Although Congress must take action if we are to get the energy reforms our nation so badly needs, it must act with care to first do no harm, either by reinstating drilling bans or by repeating the energy tax faux pas of the 1980s.
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