Bob McCarty Writes

President Barack Obama will increase U.S. reliance on foreign oil by eliminating the deduction for drilling in the U.S. and put at risk up to 6 million jobs directly and indirectly reliant on the industry.  That’s the message being delivered to all who will hear it by official and unofficial representatives of the American Petroleum Institute, according to a recent article in Business Week.

More specifically, the magazine reported that the national trade association representing all aspects of America’s oil and natural gas industry is battling President Obama’s proposals to reduce the industry’s tax breaks through presentations to newspaper editorial boards and visits to Washington by top oil company executives and employees, plus drop-ins by ordinary shareholders.

Jane Van Ryan

When contacted about the article via e-mail, API spokesperson Jane Van Ryan said editorial board visits and drop-in visits are part of API’s ongoing lobbying effort and then went on to discuss the main premise of the Business Week article that deserves attention.

“It implies that various businesses and industries are very concerned about the administration’s tax proposals,” Van Ryan explained.  “That is correct.

“The oil and natural gas industry is very concerned because of the possible impact on everyone who lives and works in the U.S.,” she continued.  “If the administration makes the U.S. an exceedingly expensive place to do business and continues to keep the best energy resources impossible to access, the impact won’t be helpful to anyone.

“The energy business is global, and the companies must answer to their shareholders. Therefore, if they can get a better return on investment elsewhere, why shouldn’t they reduce their investments here and go overseas?”

The result of going overseas, of course, would be that thousands of Americans would lose their jobs, billions of dollars in tax revenues would go away and the United States would become even more dependent on foreign oil and experience more market volatility.

“No one wants that to happen — certainly not the oil companies and the 6 million people who depend on them for direct and indirect jobs,” Van Ryan added.  “So it’s fair to say that the oil companies will not merely accept these huge tax increases. Rather, they and API will try to have meaningful discussions with a variety of people in hopes of explaining what I’ve just said to you.”

If you think we should do everything we can to reduce our country’s dependence on foreign sources of oil and natural gas, CONTACT YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS in Washington, D.C., and demand they do the right thing.  Threaten them with your vote.  Say whatever it takes to convince them that President Obama’s proposals to reduce the oil and natural gas industry’s tax breaks should be rejected.

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See also: President Obama, Democrats Ignore Fact: Drilling Holds $1.7 Trillion in Economic Stimulus Potential (Feb. 6, 2009)

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UPDATE 3/14/09 at 4:28 p.m Central: This post is sitting atop the “Who’s blogging about this article” listing associated with Clifford Krauss’ article, As Oil and Gas Prices Plunge, a Frenzy of Drilling Ends, published today in The New York TImes.