Shanker Calls Support for Offshore Drilling “Politics as Usual”

Shanker Calls Support for Offshore Drilling “Politics asUsual”

Flagstaff, AZ – Last week President Bush ended a presidential ban that prohibited drilling in areas off the East and West coasts. The gesture was largely symbolic, as a Congressional ban remains in effect. But the President’s move focuses national attention on the prohibitive cost of gasoline and the pressure on the U.S. to become energy independent. Many other Washington politicians on both sides of the aisle have recently voiced support for opening up new areas for offshore drilling, not with standing the fact that more than 60 million acres are currently held on lease by oil companies that have not been drilled.

The President said expanded offshore drilling would send a signal to the market that more domestic supplies of oil and gas were on the way.

Howard Shanker, Democratic candidate for Arizona’s First Congressional District, issued a statement today demanding that our elected officials take real action to alleviate high gas prices. “Offshore drilling does not solve the problem of high gas prices,” said Shanker. “It’s just an excuse for Washington to avoid taking immediate action to bring prices down.”Shanker cited a 2007 Department of Energy study that noted access to coastal energy deposits would not add to domestic crude oil production before 2030, and that the impact on prices would be “insignificant.” According to Shanker, “As one pundit put it, opening up new areas for drilling to address current gas prices is like ‘looking for change in the couch when the mortgage is already six months overdue.’ ”

Shanker charged elected officials with simply playing a political game. “The recent support in Washington for offshore drilling shows exactly what is wrong with our political system,” he said. “The marketing of such politically expedient solutions makes it more difficult to actually address the problem and to provide thoughtful solutions that are in the public interest. An essential part of the gas price issue is exercising fiscal restraint and responsibility -- bringing up the value of the dollar and, at the same time, imposing meaningful regulation on speculators and futures traders. Simply releasing oil from the strategic reserves is not sufficient. It has to be done inconjunction with additional measures.”

Shanker continued, “We need real solutions to help Americans who simply cannot afford gas at the current prices. We’ve got to change Washington—by changing the kind of leaders we elect. We cannot continue toelect career politicians who only care about re-election.”

As an alternative to offshore drilling, Shanker outlined a plan that addresses gas prices in the short term and also develops long-term solutions. For short-term relief, Shanker supports releasing oil from strategic reserves, which he emphasized was only a “band-aid” for the current crisis. In terms of long-range planning, Shanker said that any incentives or federal funding that would go to offshore exploration should instead go into research and investment in new energy sources. “The money spent on offshore drilling would be much better spent investing in new technologies.” Shanker added, “It’s also an issue of national security—while we wait two decades for offshore drilling to deliver, we’ll continue to be at the mercy of the foreign oil supply.”

In conjunction with his opposition to opening new areas to off shore drilling, Shanker has released a comprehensive plan for economic development, which is posted on http://www.Shanker2008.com. Monday, July 21st. The plan includes a focus on fiscal responsibility through a repeal of tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, superior regulation of the housing market, and investment in energy infrastructure and other public works projects. Shanker is the only candidate for the CD 1 seat who has released a comprehensive economic plan.

To learn more about Howard Shanker and his campaign, go to www.shanker2008.com.