Jul 14, 2008

For Immediate Release

Contact:  Chris Hill
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Senator Posey Statement Re: President Lifting Offshore Oil Ban

Melbourne, FL -  State Senator Bill Posey, a current candidate for Florida’s 15th Congressional District, released the following statement after hearing that President Bush plans to lift an executive order that has banned offshore drilling since 1990:

“As Americans continue to see prices at the pump rise, Congressional leaders have turned a deaf ear to their cries for help.  The President took an important step today by lifting a two decade long executive order ban on drilling, but I urge Congress to follow his lead – lift the Congressional ban on offshore drilling and lift it NOW!”

Congressional leaders have refused the President’s call to lift the Congressional ban on offshore drilling, often citing it would take more than a decade to retrieve and refine oil for American consumption.
“I worked on the Apollo program, when a President with great vision said our nation could put a man on the moon and safely bring him home in under a decade – and that was using 1960’s technology – and we did it.  Don’t tell me we can’t get to work and start showing progress for Americans in short order.”

“Had this been done 5 or 10 years ago we wouldn’t be in this crisis. While new energy technologies must continue to be developed, we remain heavily reliant on oil, not just for our cars, but for the thousands of other products made from petroleum.  Drilling in ANWAR and off the coasts will help America become more energy independent from our enemies while providing relief at the pump.”

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