Joe Manchin: “I rise this afternoon to address the Offshore Production and Safety Act. It is legislation that attempts to address the…”

“I rise this afternoon to address the Offshore Production and Safety Act. It is legislation that attempts to address the regulation and the critical need to drill for oil in this country. Let me tell you, I understand the frustration from my colleagues who are upset about the bureaucratic agencies that really do not understand the urgent need to review permits in a timely and responsible manner. Mining in West Virginia has long been a direct target of the EPA and these unfair regulatory practices they have practiced for far too long. For example, in May of 2009, the EPA had a permit backlog of 235 applications. Two-thirds of them were already deemed complete for final processing by the Army Corps of Engineers. Clearly, there is a problem. The question is, Is this legislation the right solution? The truth is, I would love to sink my teeth in and vote for this measure, but I simply cannot. I do not believe this legislation strikes the right commonsense balance among our energy demands, responsible regulation, our economy, and the environment. In fact, the unintended consequence of this legislation is that it could make regulatory agencies more powerful and more Draconian--a fact that would actually hurt the drilling, the energy independence we could gain, and the businesses' and our need to achieve energy independence.…”