More Cathy McMorris Rodgers Foolishness

From a recent press release:

House Republican Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) released the following statement after the House passed H.R. 4899, Lowering Gasoline Prices to Fuel an America that Works Act of 2014, which will cut the red tape that hinders American oil and natural gas production, opening access to America’s vast energy resources.

“For the past five years, American families have watched their wallets emptied from escalating gas prices. And today the House has acted to help them. We have the ability to produce more American oil and natural gas – reducing our dependence on foreign oil and putting more money back into people’s pockets. So let’s do it. Let’s unlock America’s offshore drilling areas. Let’s ease the pain at the pump for people all across this country. And let’s get Americans back to work so they can bring home higher paychecks. I applaud Chairman Doc Hastings (R-WA) for leading us all in saying ‘yes’ to American energy – and helping the American people because of it.”

I linked to the legislation above so you can read it for yourself because she never does. It's like the title really describes the legislation, which it rarely does these days. This is nothing more than another iteration of "Drill, baby! Drill!"

The very first sentence of the bill:

"To lower gasoline prices for the American family by increasing domestic onshore and offshore energy exploration and production, to streamline and improve onshore and offshore energy permitting and administration, and for other purposes."

This is the part where she tries to fool us into thinking that gasoline prices are going up because there's a shortage. If you look at how much gasoline we are importing and exporting, you'll see that there is no shortage in the area of availability. And we are exporting more than we import. Why are we exporting gas when prices are higher?

"The growth in U.S. gasoline exports does not necessarily mean higher pump prices for U.S. consumers. Rather, export markets are providing an outlet for refiners that might otherwise have faced lower profit margins that could encourage them to reduce output or possibly even shutdown, which could cause gasoline prices to increase."

In other words, oil companies, who on one hand accept the corporate welfare in the form of tax breaks and on the other hand want to make as much profit as possible, are under no obligation to sell their products in the United States.

Increasing the amount of onshore and offshore drilling does not guarantee lower gas prices. We have plenty of gas in the U.S. and demand is down. Profits can be made more easily elsewhere in the world where demand is higher. The only thing more drilling will guarantee is more profits for oil companies. And more environmental trashing.