Ray McKinney is a Republican running for Congress in Georgia’s 12th District against Democrat Rep. John Barrow. A project manager who works at nuclear power plants, McKinney has come up with a plan of action for coping with the disaster caused by the BP Deepwater Horizon well. Highlights of the McKinney plan:
- Immediately suspend or grant waivers to the Jones Act. Saudi and Dutch firms have proven high-tech solutions to clean up the spill in an estimated 3 months, instead of the current projection of 9 months it is likely to take under current policies. . . .
- Lift the six-month moratorium on offshore drilling. Thirty-three Gulf oil rigs are now idle, and according to the Times-Picayune, Louisiana alone would lose $2.97 billion and 7,590 jobs directly related to the oil industry. . . .
- Allow local governments to construct all the protective barrier islands (sand berms) they need to keep safe the beaches and marsh lands along the gulf coast. Delay in approval has allowed oil to wash up on the shore. . . .
- Cut all red tape that may hinder efforts to stop the spill and clean up areas affected by the spill.
- Salvaging the well can no longer be priority one. We must stop the gushing well and return to normal the lives affected by this catastrophe. . . .
- BP is responsible for the spill and BP, not the taxpayers, must bear the cost of the cleanup.
The full plan is online in PDF format.
