A new offshore-drilling safety standards bill has been approved by the House to increase standards, end the policy of a federal cap on economic liabilty for companies responsible, and clarify new fees for oil and gas production. In addition, companies with safety violations within the past 7 years (in the workplace or in equipment), will be unable to aquire new drilling permits offshore. Most Democrats heartily approve of the measure believing that the bill will, "increase drilling safety and crack down on oil companies like BP". Republicans (and oil-state Democrats) on the other hand, view the bill as a, "federal power grab that would raise energy prices and kill thousands of American jobs. While I agree that safety regulations for oil rigs and their companies needed a complete overhaul, I think it is a bit much to increase taxes and fees on the production of oil and gas at the moment because that will only further damage the economy as companies raise their prices to keep profits up.
Article Referenced
The Associated Press. "House Passes Drilling Bill with Feature on Safety". NYTimes. New York Times. 30 July 2010. Web. 29 Aug 2010.
I agree that there needs to be regulations on the offshore drilling, but this plan that the House passed will greatly hurt the economy. Off-shore drilling is a necessary part to our contries oil supply wether we like it or not. If this new plan goes through oil prices will go up and many people will lose their jobs. I think regulations should be made that are helpful in protecting from future oil spills but also maintain the necessary levels of oil production.
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