VIDEO: Victims of the Obama Drilling Moratorium
Rob Bluey /
In the midst of the worst oil spill in U.S. history, President Obama imposed a moratorium on deepwater oil drilling one year ago this week. What was supposed to be a months-long ban on Gulf of Mexico operations has dragged on for a year in what’s now been dubbed a “permitorium” by critics of the administration.
The Department of Interior justified last year’s moratorium as a necessary step to develop new regulations for offshore drillers. But a year later, those closest to the action in the Gulf of Mexico see it as something different—a deliberate freeze on energy production.
Even after facing criticism about the slow rate of permit approvals, the administration still lags far behind the historical average for new deepwater permits. That’s cause for concern not just for the people of Louisiana and neighboring states. It also has nationwide economic consequences.
Heritage and the Institute for Energy Research recently sent a team to Louisiana to hear directly from the people most impacted by the Obama administration’s policies. Our new video reveals their frustration, particularly with Obama for his words of praise about offshore drilling in Brazil while doing the opposite here at home.