Today, President Obama rolled out new plans for an expansion of offshore oil drilling, but also pushed Congress to move forward on comprehensive climate legislation, noting that “drilling alone cannot come close to meeting our long-term energy needs, and that for the sake of the planet and our energy independence, we need to begin the transition to cleaner fuels now.”
Republicans have been pushing for the President to open up offshore drilling for a while now, even adapting “drill baby, drill” as their veritable climate legislation slogan. Obama’s new plan, which Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton describes as “‘drill where it’s responsible,” puts GOPers in the awkward position of basically agreeing with something the President has proposed.
Here’s a roundup of Republican reactions to the announcement…
- House Minority Whip John Boehner (R-OH) said that “the Obama Administration continues to defy the will of the American people” by not lifting the moratorium on offshore drilling everywhere, adding that “Americans simply don’t want this backdoor national energy tax that will drive up energy and manufacturing costs and destroy jobs in our states and local communities.”
Though Boehner allowed that “opening up areas off the Virginia coast to offshore production is a positive step,” he also said that keeping other areas of the country “under lock and key makes no sense.”
- Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) praised the announcement:
I am encouraged that the Administration has endorsed offshore energy exploration off our coast, which will not only help put Virginians back to work, but bring needed revenue to our state.
But Cantor also qualified his praise, noting that “many in Washington – including Speaker Pelosi and President Obama – continue to keep a job-killing cap-and-trade energy tax on the table. Their cap-and-tax policy would cost workers their jobs and have devastating effects upon working families – particularly those in lower income households – and small businesses, by greatly increasing costs.”
- Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) was decidedly more positive, praising the President who he said “correctly emphasized the national security aspects of this problem. He did a very good job of explaining the challenges we face and how our own national security is placed at increased risk by our reliance on foreign oil.”
He continued: “The time has come for our nation to embrace comprehensive, game-changing energy policies which lead to energy independence.”
- Sen. Mitch McConnell (R–KY) called the announcement “a step in the right direction, but a small one that leaves enormous amounts of American energy off limits.” He also said: “It’s time to put America’s energy to work for the American people, without the threat of a new national energy tax.”
- Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ) sang a slightly different tune than the other Republicans: “I’m very uncomfortable with the idea of drilling off the coast of New Jersey. New Jersey’s coast is one of its economic engines, and I would have to really be convinced of both the economic viability of having to do it and the environmental safety. And at this point, I’m not convinced of either.”
- Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) said “I appreciate the President’s apparent willingness to consider offshore drilling as part of the Administration’s energy policy.”
But he added that it “appears President Obama is caught in a contradiction: the President is, on the one hand, pushing forward with global warming policies to make fossil fuels more expensive, while on the other hand, he’s talking about drilling for more fossil fuels offshore. How does the President square these two policies?”
Burton responded to some of the criticism from Republicans, noting that based on what the Republicans were saying over the course of the health care debate, “even lukewarm statements are a step in the right direction.”
He added: “This comprehensive approach is a lot less ‘drill baby, drill,’ and more ‘drill where it’s responsible.'”
Watch:
Read the President’s full remarks here.
