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For Immediate Release
February 26, 2010

IPAA chairman: "The real priority for 2010 is going to be jobs, jobs, jobs"

WASHINGTON - Earlier this week, a group of 19 House Democrats, who represent energy-producing districts and are members of the fiscally responsible Blue Dog coalition, sent a letter to Congressman John Spratt (D-SC), chairman of the House Budget Committee, regarding the tens of billions of dollars in new tax hikes on American oil and gas producers proposed in President Obama's new budget. In the letter, which was authored by Congressmen Gene Green (D-TX) and Harry Teague (D-NM), the lawmakers write:

• "At this critical juncture in American history, we must make tough decisions to improve our economic, energy and national security. One choice, however, is clear: the continued domestic production of natural gas and oil will help address many of the challenges we face today, including create jobs for a struggling economy, provide millions of dollars to federal and state governments from taxes and royalties, decrease our reliance on foreign sources of energy, and meet our clean energy goals by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
  
  
• "America's natural gas and oil industry can deliver new, high-wage jobs to many regions of the country, including areas not traditionally associated with oil and natural gas production. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics at the Department of Labor, energy industry jobs nationwide grew by almost 9% while upstream industry jobs jumped 64% from 2002-2008. If we continue to promote the responsible production of these resources, we can see similar increases throughout the country on top of the over 9 million jobs already supported by the industry."

The congressmen also note in their letter that "America's independent producers -- which develop over 80% percent of the U.S. natural gas and nearly 70% of U.S. oil -- are small businesses which President Obama lauded in his State of the Union address as a key component to growing our economy."

Before listing the host of new, job-killing taxes proposed in the President's budget, and their negative economic consequences, the lawmakers write that such misguided policies could:

• "Disproportionately penalize America's independent producers and will serve only to discourage companies from investing in additional projects and jobs, such as in the new shale gas play across the nation."

IPAA's chairman, Bruce Vincent - who's president and CEO of the Houston-based Swift Energy Co. - echoed similar sentiments earlier in the week. The Houston Chronicle's Jennifer Dlouhy reports this under the headline "Key energy players pump up the volume": 

• Bruce Vincent, head of Houston-based Swift Energy Co., and chairman of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, noted "the oil industry seems to be a huge target, because of the huge deficits, and the typical government response to deficits is to increase taxes."
  
  
• The industry's top argument boils down to one word: jobs. In face-to-face lobbying in Congress and in advertising campaigns, the industry contends the oil and gas sector employs 9.2 million people - including roughly 7 million directly - and has the potential to put more to work.
  
  
• With roughly one in 10 workers now unemployed, Vincent said that's a potent message on Capitol Hill.
  
  
• "While cutting the deficit is a high priority, the real priority for 2010 is going to be jobs, jobs, jobs," Vincent said. "That is where the focus is going to be, and that's one of the things our industry really does offer - the ability to create jobs."

Unnecessary layers of federal regulation - in addition to these onerous tax hikes - are discouraging the production of homegrown, American-made energy, and are costing jobs at a time when they're most needed. Under the headline "Western Wyoming's once-booming gas industry approaches economic and regulatory crossroads," the Associated Press reports this earlier in the week:

• Industry officials, however, say they worry that tighter federal leasing rules could discourage drilling on Wyoming's public lands in favor of less-regulated private land in the East and South when the economy picks up again.
  
  
• "It's certainly a concern," said Bruce Hinchey, director of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming, an oil and gas lobbying group. "We've seen companies take their dollars and put them elsewhere because they had permits in hand and were able to drill and explore and develop."
  
  
• Much of the community welcomed the drilling frenzy and economic boom that occurred during the Bush era.
  
  
• "It's a helluva good thing," Sublette County Commissioner John Linn said. "My kids have jobs here."
  
  
• County Commissioner Linn said the growth fueled by the gas industry helped his son and daughter get good jobs near home, which in years past would have been a challenge.