In his speech last night, President Obama reiterated his support for the six-month deepwater drilling moratorium, saying that the ban would remain in place until the presidential commission completes its investigation into the Deepwater Horizon accident.

The president's statement must have been heartbreaking for the thousands of Gulf workers who depend on energy development for their livelihoods. As you can see in this New York Times video, the moratorium is taking an economic and emotional toll among these workers.

API's calculations show the moratorium could put 46,200 jobs at risk in the short-term and as many as 120,000 jobs over the long-term. It also could cut U.S. energy production by 130,000 barrels of oil per day by 2011 and as much as 500,000 barrels per day between 2013 and 2017, reducing America's energy security.

These cuts in jobs and energy production will cause additional hardships for Gulf Coast states that already are reeling from the oil spill. It's estimated that the oil and natural gas sector accounts for 16 percent of Louisiana's economy, which is more than three times higher than the 5 percent attributed to the fishing industry.

What do you think about the moratorium? As Kevin Book of ClearView Energy Partners points out in today's podcast, the government doesn't shut down the mining industry after a coal mine disaster.

Should it lift the moratorium on deepwater drilling?