With time running short, the Senate postponed its consideration of an energy bill this week - a "spill bill," as some called it. Now members of the Senate and various lobbying groups are engaging in finger-pointing and blaming each other for the bill's delay.

H. Sterling Burnett, writing in The Hill, says part of the problem was the sales pitch used to push for passage. "Though the Senate's energy bill had nothing to do with the safety of offshore oil rigs, the green lobby tried to link the two in the public's mind. Fortunately, neither the public nor, ultimately, many senators were buying it," he writes.

In API's view, the bill had several flaws. Areas of concern included provisions that would have:

Senate leaders took the right step to shelve a flawed spill bill, and we look forward to working with lawmakers to improve the bill so that American taxpayers, domestic jobs, the economy and our economic security are protected.

The bill proposed by the Democratic leadership is not an effective or reasoned response to the spill. Instead it will cost American jobs, threaten our fragile economic recovery and jeopardize our energy security.

Among the legislation's shortcoming is the elimination of the cap on oil spill liability. Unlimited liability for spill damages would force most oil and natural gas companies out of the Gulf of Mexico because they would be unable to purchase insurance. This would put thousands of American jobs at risk and reduce the energy supplies we get from the Gulf.

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Today could be D-Day for the Macondo well. According to reports, BP is conducting a test to determine the likely success of killing the well from the top, while getting in position to assault the well from the bottom.

This two-pronged attack is expected to begin tonight or tomorrow with a static kill in which heavy drilling muds are pumped into the Macondo's cap and down into the well.

If the static kill works, the pressure inside the well will fall from 6,980 psi (pounds per square inch) to zero as the mud forces the rising oil and gas back down into the earth. Then engineers hope to force cement through the top of the well to permanently plug it from the top.

To further ensure Macondo's death, the relief well will intercept the wellbore and pump in heavy mud and cement, forcing the oil a... more »

The House spill bill that passed today will cost American jobs, slow economic growth and will place our energy security at risk.

This is an anti-jobs, anti-consumer and anti-energy bill. Instead of addressing the risks of offshore development by improving safety and establishing a robust system for covering the costs of possible future accidents, this bill effectively bans development and sends thousands of workers in offshore communities to the unemployment lines.

The unlimited liability provisions will drive the vast majority of American companies out of U.S. waters because they will not be able to obtain insurance coverage. Those remaining will be subject to huge cost hikes, reducing energy production, economic growth, American jobs and government revenues.

While the House recognized th... more »

With the House and the Senate poised to vote on energy bills before the August recess, editorial and op-ed writers are taking Congress to task for neglecting the primary issues confronting the United States today--jobs and the economy.

At a time when millions of Americans are out of work and worried about their family budgets, they say Congress and the administration are using the oil spill to enact legislation that could do more economic harm than good:

In a Houston Chronicle op-ed, Harry C. Alford of the National Black Chamber of Commerce writes that Congress is addressing the Gulf oil spill "calamity with an even more damaging response--tax increases on our domestic oil and gas companies." He says the unemployment rate in the African-American community stands at 15.4 percent. "Couple th... more »