Building energy resources, building up the economy

With an unemployment rate of 12.5 percent and record foreclosures, South Carolina needs something to smile about. The president recently gave us that when he announced his support for offshore drilling along the Outer Continental Shelf, a position that will help ensure a brighter energy and economic future. Developing the nation’s energy resources could boost the economy and add thousands of good jobs in our state.

Today, the U.S. oil and natural gas industry supports more than 9.2 million jobs nationwide. In South Carolina, 67,000 men and women are directly or indirectly employed by the industry, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers study. And a study by ICF International says the development of offshore oil and natural gas could provide the state with 2,247 new jobs by 2030.

Our Gulf Coast neighbors in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas receive more than a third of the revenues collected by the federal government for offshore energy production. South Carolina could reap these economic benefits, too. A September report by the Southeast Energy Alliance estimates that a similar revenue-sharing program could provide our state with up to $250 million a year from oil and natural gas exploration and production along the Outer Continental Shelf. These funds would play a vital role to help fill the budget gap, fund critical health care needs and support infrastructure and education projects.

Despite the obvious benefits, some people continue to oppose offshore drilling. But with an overwhelming majority of American’s supporting offshore drilling – 72 percent, according to a Rasmussen survey – energy development should be treated as an opportunity, not a problem.

The president’s decision is an encouraging one, but he still supports damaging cap-and-trade legislation and $80 billion in tax increases on the U.S. oil and natural gas industry. These proposals would discourage investment, further inhibit domestic energy development and destroy existing jobs – not create the new ones that more than 270,000 unemployed South Carolinians desperately need.

As the United States strives to reduce its budget deficit, it’s critical that we explore all paths that could improve the economy and create much-needed jobs. Developing America’s oil and natural gas resources is clearly one such path. We should take it.

Rep. Bruce Bannister

Read more: http://www.thestate.com/2010/04/26/1257505/building-energy-resources-building.html#ixzz0mRYaWIdY