House Republicans in the U.S. Congress once again wasted the people's time by passing H.R. 6082, a blatant give away to oil companies that opens up previously protected lands to drilling, yet that nothing to impact prices at the pump, much less contain any new safety or environmental protections.
Specifically, Republicans Peter Roskam of the 6th District, Joe Walsh of the 8th, and Bob Dold of the 10th voted against amendments that would have required any oil derived from the new drilling sites to stay in this country, and also would have stipulated upgrades to drilling procedures to avoid another disaster like the BP Deep Horizon spill. H.R. 6082 has no chance at being ratified by the Senate, but rather than focus on critical issues like jobs or regulating Wall Street, Roskam, Walsh and Dold spent time passing H.R. 6082, which allows oil companies to drill for free on public lands.
At a time when oil companies are making record profits, this giveaway is unconscionable. Add to this the risks to local fishing and tourism industries, and it's clear in whose best interests the Republicans conduct their business. Domestic oil production is already at an 18-year high. Instead of providing another hand out to Big Oil, our elected officials should focus on supporting clean energy sources http://ecowatch.org/p/energy/renewable-energy-energy/> like offshore wind and solar, investing in energy efficiency and promoting smart transportation policies that will end our dependence on oil.
Dennis Rossow
Lake Zurich
