Washington, D.C. (January 27, 2015) - Today, the Obama Administration announced its Draft Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2017 to 2022. Western Caucus Chairman Cynthia Lummis (WY-At Large) released the following statement in response to the announcement:
"We have made great strides in recent years to increase American energy security by making responsible use of energy resources on private lands, a success story this Administration continues to negate by holding abundant resources on federal land and waters under lock and key," said Chairman Lummis. "Mere days after a 12 million acre land grab to foreclose energy production altogether on the ANWR coastal plain, the Administration is now proposing an offshore energy plan with the lowest number of leases in the history of the OCS program. Despite allowing limited new development in the Atlantic, overall the plan is yet another setback for American energy security. With the United States poised to become a global energy leader, fulfilling American aspirations for energy security once thought unattainable, it's disheartening that our President is choosing instead to handicap offshore energy potential and the jobs that go along with it."