Rather than deal with the Gulf oil spill in a reasoned fashion, the administration and some in Congress have put forth a barrage of political proposals that could jeopardize jobs and domestic energy production, and deal heavy blows to the economy overall.

Seemingly aimed at preventing a similar accident, these proposals--a six-month moratorium, unlimited liability and tax increases--will do nothing to promote offshore drilling safety. Instead, they could threaten hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs, cost billions in government revenue and royalties, and limit a major part of the nation's energy lifeline.

When asked recently about the most important issue for the federal government to address, people emphatically responded, "jobs" and "the economy." So why are policymakers ignoring what peop... more »

The Senate bill unveiled today by Majority Leader Harry Reid moves forward with provisions that will cost American jobs, slow economic growth and will place our energy security at risk.

While full details of the Senate bill are not yet available, the liability provision sticks out as a jobs killer. Requiring an unattainable level of insurance coverage for domestic energy producers on the Outer Continental Shelf will force the vast majority of American companies out of U.S. waters, according to insurers.

This would cut domestic production, kill American jobs, slow economic growth and cost billions in federal oil and natural gas revenues.

Even those that could self insure operations would see costs skyrocket, driving investments out of the United States, further hurting our economy, employm... more »

What if Congress and the administration approve many of the deepwater drilling measures that are now being debated? And what if their actions result in unlimited liability for oil spills, additional regulations on well and rig designs, higher taxes and fees and an extended moratorium that cancelled drilling projects?

The economic impacts could be dire.

A new analysis by API economists shows that the moratorium, if continued indefinitely, or similar proposals which would make deepwater development unavailable or uneconomic would cost this country 175,000 jobs every year between now and 2035. Over the long term, it also would reduce U.S. oil production by 27 percent and would likely increase oil imports by 19 percent.

API President and CEO Jack Gerard told reporters today:

"Legislation that... more »

Editor's note: In a Roll Call op-ed that ran today, API President and CEO Jack Gerard urges Congress not to make hasty, legislative and regulatory decisions following the Deepwater Horizon incident that could unfairly penalize oil and natural gas companies. Jack's comments are below:

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has created understandable new concerns over offshore oil and natural gas operations, and Americans are right to demand assurances that offshore operations are safe and not detrimental to our environment.

The oil and natural gas industry understands that, and our pledge from the very beginning has been to work day and night to help BP stop the leak, clean up the spill and find out what happened so we can put in place lasting solutions. Only then can Americans once again have... more »

Yesterday API hosted a conference call with 11 bloggers to discuss pressing energy issues following the Deepwater Horizon incident.

Topics discussed included the deepwater drilling moratorium, the potential economic impact of new taxes being considered by Congress, oil spill liability issues, and new ethanol standards proposed by the EPA.

Eight industry representatives weighed in during the conversation, including Dr. Tim Considine, author of a recent study assessing the economic benefits of developing the Marcellus Shale.

At one point in the call, API Tax Policy Manager Stephen Comstock debunked the common misperception that the oil and natural gas industry receives more subsidies than any other industry:

"There's been a lot of statements out there that the oil and gas industry is the mo... more »