The American Spectator

p> WEAK POWER BILL br> Re: R. Emmett Tyrrell, Jr.’s The Democrats’ Sham Energy Bill : /p>

The bill passed by the House does absolutely nothing to increase oil production — in fact, it promises to lock up our most productive discoveries for many years to come.

p>Mr. Tyrrell states, “Ostensibly the bill will allow drilling as close to our shores as 50 miles in the Atlantic and the Pacific….” If that is indeed the case, then the bill is automatically unconstitutional. Congressional jurisdiction does not go beyond the 12-1/2 mile point off br> our shores — the same goes for state jurisdiction. All areas beyond that point are in international waters. All this caterwauling about the “50 mile restriction” is moot. Our oil exploration firms should give Congress (and states that are not team players) the “big middle one” and start drilling beyond the 12-1/2 mile point right now. The companies should just swoop right in and start anchoring their rigs and pipeline right now. /p> p>The bottom line is Congress doesn’t have to do a damn thing in order for oil production to ramp up. Congress should just stay the hell out of the way. The oil companies can simply wait until the current unconstitutional ban expires on Sept 30. That will give us the freedom to do whatever we want beyond the 12-1/2 mile point. If I was Marathon, BP, or any other production company, I would have my new rigs floating in the high seas ready to be anchored with drill bits sharpened and ready to go when the clock strikes midnight in the new fiscal year. br> — Owen H. Carneal, Jr. br> Yorktown, Virginia /p>