More than 15 months after the Obama administration lifted its ban on offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, oil and gas supply and service companies report they are suffering significant financial hardships from the government’s actions. The moratorium — as well as the slow pace of permitting that followed — have suffocated businesses, costing jeopardizing millions in business revenue and even forcing some to close their doors, according to a survey conducted by Greater New Orleans Inc. Louisiana, home to 88 percent of the country’s offshore rigs, has absorbed …
According to Dr. Michael Walker Jones of the Louisiana Association of Educators, low-income parents “don’t have a clue” when it comes to making decisions about their children’s education. Last week, in an interview with the New Orleans Times-Picayune, he stated: “If I’m a parent in poverty, I have no clue because I’m trying to struggle and live day-to-day.” Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (R) was quick to respond to Jones, who leads the state’s largest education union: The union leader’s comments are just the type of top-down, arrogant, elitist mentality that …
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Few people have been more vocal about the challenges facing offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico than Sen. David Vitter. As a Republican from Louisiana, Vitter has firsthand knowledge of the Obama administration’s slow pace of permitting since last year’s oil spill. Louisiana has yet to fully recover from the drilling moratorium and the subsequent delays stemming from Washington. This week marked the first offshore lease sale in nearly two years — a sign of progress. However, bureaucrats are still taking 115 days to approve plans, nearly twice as …
The Obama administration is approving only 37 percent of the deepwater drilling plans submitted this year — a figure that falls below even last year’s low approval rate. It’s also taking federal bureaucrats an average of 115 days to approve the plans, nearly double the historical average. Greater New Orleans Inc. reported the numbers as part of its Gulf Permit Index, a measure of permit issuance. The data was provided by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement, which oversees shallow-water and deepwater permits. Last year’s numbers were …
Catching you up on clips, commentary and news of the day. Sign up for the daily email update from Scribe. Gallup: Obama job rating sinks below 40% for first time – Michael A. Memoli, Los Angeles Times Economists’ outlook darkens: See 30% chance of recession – Paul Davidson and Barbara Hansen, USA Today Debt panel should educate the public on tough choices – Boston Globe Postal Service running out of money – James Gattuso, Orange County Register Day to remember before we die – James Carafano, Washington Examiner Rumsfeld: A Voice …
Americans are paying more for gasoline today than they were six weeks ago when President Obama released 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. In the Gulf of Mexico, meanwhile, 10 drilling rigs — more than one-third of the fleet — have left on Obama’s watch. This incomprehensible energy policy is not only costing Americans more money at the pump. Bureaucratic delays in Washington are also stunting job growth and adding to the budget deficit. As the Obama Administration pivots to a new jobs agenda — at …
Last year in the midst of the worst oil spill in U.S. history, Heritage sent a team to the Gulf Coast to view the clean-up effort firsthand. At the time, the deepwater drilling moratorium was only beginning to disrupt the region’s economy. Today, one year after the oil spill, the Obama administration’s anti-drilling agenda poses a serious threat to recovery. Heritage recently returned to the Gulf Coast to hear from business owners. Partnering with the Institute for Energy Research, we produced a video featuring Leslie Bertucci, owner of R and …
Shallow-water rig workers and those in industries unrelated to oil drilling are losing their jobs and being denied access to relief funds because of what Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) calls a “de facto shallow-water drilling ban.” Nearly $1 billion is going to Gulf Coast industries that are suffering in the aftermath of the BP oil spill, but many workers losing their jobs due to the drilling ban, imposed by the Obama administrations’ Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, are not eligible. BP’s $20 billion relief fund for those affected by the Gulf …
When the U.S. Senate reconvenes on Sept. 13, a very rare event will begin in Room 216 of the Hart Senate Office Building: an impeachment trial. A specially-formed committee chaired by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and vice-chaired by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), will hear testimony and receive evidence in the impeachment trial of Louisiana Judge G. Thomas Porteous, Jr. According to the Committee, such a proceeding has occurred only 15 times in our history, while three other impeachments terminated due to the resignation of the judges in question. In fact, …
