U.S. Senator Ken Salazar Member: Finance, Agriculture, Energy, Ethics and Aging Committees 2300 15^th Street, Suite 450 Denver, CO 80202 | 702 Hart Senate Building, Washington, D.C. 20510
For Immediate Release Monday, July 14, 2008		CONTACT:Michael Amodeo – 303-249-5286 Matt Lee-Ashley – 202-228-5905
Sen. Salazar's Response to President Bush's Lifting of Executive Ban on Offshore Drilling WASHINGTON, DC – Today, United States Senator Ken Salazar released the following statement in response to President Bush’s decision to lift the Executive ban on offshore drilling in the United States. The ban was originally implemented under the Administration of former President George Herbert Walker Bush in 1990. “Until now, the President has been calling for more lands to be opened for off-shore oil and gas development, but he has had a Presidential moratorium banning the same thing. So I’m glad to see the President setting his moratorium aside. Now Congress can decide if some of these areas lend themselves to reasonable and responsible off-shore development, as we did in 2006, when I helped open 8 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas development. “Still, I was disappointed that the President did not take action to urge oil companies to develop the 68 million off-shore acres that are leased, but not producing. And I was disappointed that he wasn’t more honest with the American people – we can make responsible additions to our domestic supply, but with a quarter of the world’s demand for oil and only 1.7% of its supply, we can’t drill our way to energy independence. “Responsible and thoughtful development of our conventional energy resources is part of the equation, but only through meaningful choices for consumers at the pump among a variety of alternative fuels and through investments in a new, clean energy economy can we reduce our dependence on foreign oil and secure America’s energy future.” ###