WASHINGTON, D.C.—In response to the Bureau of Land Management’s draft programmatic environmental impact statement on shale development released today, Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for 21st Century Energy issued the following statement:
“On the same day that we saw increasing momentum in the labor market, the administration is again saying ‘no’ to more energy production and ‘no’ to more jobs. This proposal will dramatically decrease the amount of public lands available for energy development. This is a step in the wrong direction and flies in the face of the claims made by the president in the State of the Union regarding his support for domestic energy production.
“Development of oil shale has the potential to virtually eliminate America’s need to import oil and create thousands of jobs, yet the administration is only interested in putting up roadblocks. Given the restrictions that the Obama Administration has proposed on offshore oil and gas exploration and the rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline permit, it has become clear that the only real winners under this president’s energy policy are overseas.”
The mission of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for 21st Century Energy is to unify policymakers, regulators, business leaders, and the American public behind a common sense energy strategy to help keep America secure, prosperous, and clean. Through policy development, education, and advocacy, the Institute is building support for meaningful action at the local, state, national, and international levels.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than 3 million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.