From the office of Congressman Andy Harris:
With the price of gas soaring to nearly $4 per gallon, Rep. Andy Harris voted in favor of H.R. 1229 – Putting the Gulf Back to Work Act. The bill, which is part of the House majority’s American Energy Initiative, will lower gas prices and create American jobs. According to Louisiana State University professor and economist Dr. Joseph Mason, these bills could create 1.2 million long-term jobs.
“High gas prices are threatening our economic recovery, particularly on the Eastern Shore,” said Rep. Andy Harris, M.D. “While the liberals in Congress just want to raise taxes and slow down American energy production, I am voting to increase American energy production, help create American jobs and reduce the price of gas – all while protecting our Chesapeake Bay.”
According to President Obama Administration’s own estimates, the six month “official moratorium” (May–October 2010) on drilling cost up to 12,000 jobs. However, the study by Dr. Mason predicts that if the de facto ban on deepwater drilling continues for 18 months, there could be a direct loss of 36,137 jobs nationwide. For more information, Dr. Mason’s report can be found here.
What Congressman Andy “I Want My Government Health Care” Harris failed to note was that the moratorium was put into place after the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico last year. Also, he fails to note that the seafood industry in the Gulf after the disaster suffered and that those were among the first jobs to be lost. However, the seafood industry doesn’t have as powerful a lobby in the halls of Congress as Big Oil.
Oh Tom “All I Can Do Is Spew George Soros’ Talking Points” Meyers, our elected by the people congressman did NOT accept his congressional health insurance. Never, ever, ever have you gotten anything you claim as factual, accurate.
More like repeating statements made by Congressman Andy “I Want My Government Health Care” Harris.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/45181.html
http://www.wbaltv.com/news/25815562/detail.html
If he didn’t want his health insurance, why would he have even asked?
You make this way too easy.
Tom “I have to tow the party line or I won’t have any friends” Meyers, any prudent, responsible person who starts a new job inquires as to the benefits and what the associated costs happen to be. Especially if you have familial responsibilities. It must be nice from your perspective to be independently wealthy and not have to pay for your health benefits. Oh I forgot, the government, aka the hardworking taxpayers are supposed to provide health insurance for themselves, their families, their neighbors, prison inmates, illegal aliens, EVERYBODY. You and your liberal ideologues have absolutely no right to take money from hard working citizens and give it away ad hoc. There is no plausible explanation or justification.
“You and your liberal ideologues have absolutely no right to take money from hard working citizens and give it away ad hoc. There is no plausible explanation or justification.”
I take it you skip Article I, Section 8 during your regular masturbatory readings of the United States Constitution.
Lovely name calling. Sweeping generalizations based on supposed party affiliation. Complaining about the bias of intellectuals from the Northeast – as if dullards from the Southwest were somehow more savvy in understanding the complexities of the problems that face us all. All any foreign or domestic adversary has to do to whip up discontent among the citizens of this country is divide us with more of the same useless hot button issues like gay marriage and abortion. We have an oil based economy and I expect it will continue as long as we continue to inject it into our veins like heroin. Increasing domestic oil production is a good idea but it’s not a complete solution – like it or not oil is finite and the Earth is not replacing it at the rate we consume it. Sometimes I think Mr Harris is right and sometimes I think he is wrong. There is no good reason to subsidize oil companies when their profits are substantial… and this flies in the face of supply side economics and the conservative notion that government welfare should be reduced or eliminated. Tax increases are necessary as Reagan saw during his tenure in office. Anyone remember when we used to be able to declare the interest we paid on consumer debt? When the disparity between what we bring in in revenue, versus what we choose to expend is as large is it currently is, action must be taken in both areas to restore balance. You know… a balanced budget – like the one Clinton left before Mr Bush came to power.
@Tom Meyers Court Jester
Are you kidding me? Yes you are.
I like what you’ve started, K.
Tom “I only spew bad comedy” Myers.
Tom “women want to spew after seeing me” Myers.
Add your own! Here’s a link to an awful performance of his for inspiration:
OMG, I watched the video for about 10 seconds and could not handle any more. And this guy is representing the Dems. Is that the best they can do????
Once again they come out of the woodwork. The fishing industry was not impacted as much you are leading people to believe. Moreover, many have been reimbursed for their losses. Where the jobs are being lost is in the oil industry (in that area). Time for the moratorium to go to the wayside and time for this country to get down (and oily).
Sorry, I deal only in facts. Only one I see coming out of the woodwork is the guy using an anonymous pseudonym.
You only deal in facts?
BWAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHHAH. Excuse me… BWAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAH
Mr. Myers, you sir, are clueless. I’m glad you choose to put yourself out there but some of us want to publish thought, opinions and engage in your “reasoned discourse,” but when the motives of people like you on the left are less than stellar, it is far safer for us pseudonyms. After all, even our founders used pen names, so why attack it? Is that your only argument once your “facts’ have been discredited, ridiculed, or even partially called into question?
I mean, both yourself and Rob talked in a lot of platitudes, so here’s the set up and shake down of your statements…
First, you examined the Deep Water Horizon incident from an environmental impact perspective. Fair. It had a massive impact (some of which is still unknown). However, The economic impact is not just upon the commercial seafood / fishing industry (more on that in a minute). You failed, miserably, to ascertain the economic impact of the moratorium which was enjoined by not 1, but 2 federal courts. Meaning, that the Obama admin had over stepped its authority based on Constitutional and federal law. (I will leave the reader to make their assumption as to what is legally just in this instance).
Further, this moratorium has cost jobs in and of itself. Not from BIG OIL as you pitched talking points, but companies like W&T Offshore, Inc and other small to midsized firms that offer the drill rigs, the roughnecks, and the logistics to get deep water oil to market. Of course, that means those companies lose money, which means their employees fail to put food on the table for their families. But that doesn’t examine why we were drilling in 2000+ foot depths to begin with.
That policy, one that dates back several administrations (so not just Obama), was one of “aesthetic” purposes. One that came from the Dept of the Interior and the Environment that prevented the sale of near shore leases to the drilling companies (and then the permits once the leases were sold). Pushing the environmental impact into deeper waters, with harsher conditions with which to work, and more unknowns. Also, with greater risks, more complications should an accident occur, and an almost guaranteed failure of correction the accident. Blowout preventors can only “mitigate” a catastrophe, and sometimes they fail. I would be willing to bet that those units are only a FRACTION of the cost of a floating rig.
Now, so far we have discussed economics from the energy side of things. We’ve discussed the failure of our government to protect the shoreline once the crisis started. And we have even seen how the current administration has ignored 2 federal court orders to obey the law, and yet it continues to ignore those rulings. No matter, it is all about “big oil” and the poor commercial fishing industry.
I’m guessing you have never fished yourself before, or even watched Deadliest Catch on Discovery channel? So, here is the crash course in commercial fishing. First, they have their own powerful lobby as well. Why no criticism of them? You railed against “big oil” and it’s lobby. As a sport fishing angler myself, I have learned all to well that the commercial fishing industry is able to obliterate the resources (read sea trout in the mid 80s to mid 90s) through favorable quotas and size limits, to poor management by the Marine Fisheries Agency controlled by NOAA. For example…this year’s sport angler size limit and quota on summer flounder is 4 per person, per day, at 17.5″ and above (which is not too shabby, it’s a fair and reasonable limit to preserve the resource). Commercial fishermen? They get to keep them @ 14″, and I haven’t a clue as to how many thousands of pounds they are allowed to catch. Not to mention that they are allowed a certain % of their catch as bi-catch (meaning catching a species that they are not targeting), thus impacting multiple fisheries than just the one they are targeting.
So, Mr. Myers…Mr. “I talk in facts”…ya really don’t. And when called on it by Rob, you resorted to an in your face slam against an internet name. Wow…you’ve won!
In reality, I should not even be trying to educate you, but you are so moronic that I felt the readers here should have at least learned the “facts” that exist, are easy to research, and verifiable. Perhaps you’ll thumbs down me, but that wouldn’t surprise me one bit. Actually, I’ll wear a thumbs down in this instance as a badge of honor.
Funny you use a psuedynom because a liberal boggyman might get you? Tony Passoro and Porter and friends say that psuedonyms are for cowards.
ROB IN BEL AIR – Don’t you have any new ideas?
Sure, a lot more than you, but you would not understand them – much too far over your head.
Robbie – Oh ouch! Did I strike a nerve? Blood in the water always gets me excited. I will have to visit much more frequently now. The promise of future entertainment is too much to resist. As they say “It’s like shooting ducks in a barrel.” Best regards, Decoy
I guess it is like a person who works for the government for 48 years, who long ago ran out of any constructive ideas. Instead, they just sit around and collect dust and cause chaos.
Your observation is valid Morty, however I would like to suggest to you that even those of us that have only worked 25 years for the government get tired of satisfying people that are interested in their own immediate well being instead of the well being of the government and the country as a whole. I am routinely chastised for getting upset with people who are slow dull or incompetent that prevent me and my co-workers from getting work done. My last evaluation I was told – other people have the same problems that you do – but you’re the only one that gets upset. Do you have any idea how hard it is not to ask why there should be a problem in the first place to get upset over, if it also bothers other people?
Oh, and not to mention, using the Dagger as a means to push your marketing plan.
Good one!
“using the Dagger as a means to push your marketing plan”? Uh, I’m a columnist for the Dagger, Gomer.
By the way, nice username. I believe Patton is up your arse. Along with your head.
I find it hard to believe that resumption of Gulf drilling will create 1.2 million long term jobs. Under 20,000 people (according to above report) are unemployed due to the moratorium. If congress wants to lower gas prices they don’t need more drilling, we need more refineries. Over that last several years, Big Oil has successfully raised gas prices by taking capacity offline or in the case of BP Texas City running such a poor operation that they had an accident that shut down the plant. And to think they get huge tax breaks. Why does Dagger print this stuff?
Typical liberal democrat, when people disagree with them they go on the attack and get nasty (because they have nothing else).
That is correct, Clinton provided a balanced budget with with Republicans in control of both houses.
And Bush gave away the surplus with both houses holding democrats, primarily on the strength of his popularity for “Trying” to find Osama Bin Laden and his desire to take out Saddam Hussein because he wanted to show his daddy he could.
So whats Andy’s long term plan to keep a supply of fuel? oil is a limited product. most politicians, democrate, republican and independent; never have an answer to that question. If they even answer, they put forth the line of out technical people are working on a solution. great, kinda hard to do that when you cut the research budget.
Do they need to open up the gulf for some drilling, yes. Do they need to have many more regualtions and inspections, yes. And to ensure that the CEO’s don’t try to slide over safety and the environment. Make them and the board of directors personally responsible for any screw ups as well as the company. They start looking at jail time and losing $$ they stay on top of things.As for Andy, ok you support that bill, how about supporting some projects in the state you reside in…….
Yes, I’m sure that was what it was all about.
You are very silly and would likely miss each time (like you do here).
Rep. Harris votes to continue corporate welfare for Big Oil which reported $32 billion in PROFITS for the first quarter of this year alone. Where’s the TP outrage?
Well, Kim, the Tea Party will immediately reply with “Well [insert current or former Democratic elected official here] was in office and (s)he [insert some minor procedural vote or some statement miscontrued into a Newsbusters soundbite here]. Why aren’t you doing anything about that?”
To use a cliche, It’s Okay If You’re A Republican.
Luckily, you and I have logic.
Finally, this guy got it. He has finally come to realize that it is OK to be a Republican (and/or conservative). And I guessing he has also realized that it is OK to criticize the democrats and the president without being called racist, mean spirited, and all the other names democrats (and liberals) use today and used frequently during the Bush presidency.
Let me try and legitimately criticize the Bush Administration without using invective and hyperbole.
We were paying down the budget deficit until Mr Bush decided to give away the surplus that made it possible. On the strength of “It’s your money” we happily ignored the fact that it was our collective debt.
Following the revelation that corporate malfeasance at Enron and other corporate entities, and supposedly reliable and responsible accounting firms crafted elaborate cover ups of just how really flimsy corporate Financial Reporting was – Dick Cheney suddenly decides that Iraq must be in cahoots with Al Qaeda and must be taken out, lest the terrorists get their hands on WMD. So we take our deficit created by the Bush Tax Cuts and conveniently wage war on a country that had nothing to do with 9/11 because we can and the money for the war is borrowed Off-Budget to hide the actual impact on the deficit. Never mind we still hadn’t gotten the real bad guy in the other war we were waging in Afghanistan. History can tell you how successful a two front war is for any country. So we waged war in Iraq for seven years and we are now in Afghanistan for ten years and neither country is settled and still provides an opportunity for a disgruntled populace to become disenfranchised and radical and inclined to seek revenge.
Because we failed to pay attention during the 2002 issue raised about corporate indiscretions and how the financial markets believed their own press releases about how great things were, we missed the buildup to 2008 when everything came apart. The home I bought in Bel Air in 2002 for $226,000 sold for $340,000 in 2005. But the home I bought in 2008 for $250,000 is now worth $200,000 in 2011. And all this is because of speculation by the financial markets and the belief that the only way to go was up – until it crashed. Bush was caught off guard by Katrina and by the financial meltdown despite the signs that a hurricane was heading for New Orleans and the economy was overheated. Those last eight years seemed to catch the administration by surprise, forcing them to react to a situation that others could see coming. And now we are all paying for the price of that arrogance.
Clearly, you don’t understand sarcasm, Rob. Or anything else for that matter.
. . . and that is all the fault of President Bush. Again, I’m amazed that many forget who was in control of both houses from 1996 on . . . the Barney Frank and Chris Dodd fiasco with housing . . . and the Obama spending. Sorry Pal, you’re weak in your arguments because you leave out too much and only a few will buy it.
A correction . . . who was in control of both houses from 2006 . . .
And yes, I do place a great deal of blame on both parties for the condition this country is in. Bottom line, the government at both the fed and state levels have to stop spending.
So because he insisted on it… and those weak willed democrats who could be counted on to be called unpatriotic or some other unflattering name facing off against a president that accidently had high popularity ratings at a time, he is completely blameless for getting what he wanted?
No, the clueless among us were flimflammed and the timid among us were too afraid to oppose a guy that rammed his agenda onto all of us.
Answer the specific question: Who was in charge during the Enron collapse in 2002, and do you remember Enron helped get Bush/Cheney elected?
Answer the question: How many other Presidents could be seen playing a banjo in Crawford TX while New Orleans was being swamped?
Answer this question: Who enabled the creation of an additional cabinet position, enabled turning former contractors into government employees (TSA), all to perform the same tasks they had before 9/11?
Answer this question: Who said he wanted to take out Iraq during his campaign leading up to the election of 2000?
Answer this question: After the election in 2004, how many times a week did you see the current terrorist threat level color on the evening news?
Answer this question: What kind of moron takes off after a country that was not involved in 9/11 just because we could – and created a situation that divided our armed forces and stretched them to their limit – and authorized a smaller invasion force than his father did in 1990?
It was arrogance and ignorance, and we are still paying for it.
The best candidate? Probably Ron Paul. The best appearing on tv? Probably Mitt Romney. Unfortunately if someone has too much gray hair, a baggy face or too much baldness they wont win the election. We dont need a woman as president or vice president, although Michelle Bachman sounds like she has it together. Let her work in the administration. I have noticed that churches that let women preach with men sitting there (not at the women’s conference but during regular services) dont get blessed. I wish oil was illegal myself. Let us all use electric vehicles. Yes it costs to produce electricity and it causes pollution but look at the advantages. We can tell the oil producing countries to have a good life and wish them well. We can use our own oil in the meantime while gas vehicles are phased out. Oil prices go down, the economy goes up. We dont continue to pour money into oil companies. But I guess all that is hard to do when the oil companies continue to influence politics as much as they do. Here is this liberal politician Obama who is supposedly pro environment and does he want to cut back on gasoline vehicle production and give more tax breaks for electric vehicles? He wants to increase Gulf oil production, even after the disaster there. This country used to have Native Americans, white Americans and black Americans. Now everyone from everywhere is being encouraged to come here and take over, even if you arent legal. I cant go to a gas station that isnt owned by someone from India, unless it is Wawa. More and more Muslims are seen here, wearing their garb, Muslim guys in Starbucks slapping their chests as their Muslim greeting when they meet a brother. Some of the Muslims coming here even have bombs with them. What does Obama care about the founding fathers? They were white. He encourages people who arent white to come here, with the ultimate idea for many to have whites as a minority. Mexicans pour across the border illegally in trucks in the hundreds, with many killed by gangs on their way here. Maryland, with it’s governor, is a haven for many of them, taking jobs from black and white Americans already here. Is all of this good for us? No, and this president is encouraging it. Now he says for Israel to go back to its previous borders and forgives a billion dollars in debt for Egypt, but dont worry, he isnt favoring Muslims in any way. The world isnt going to end tomorrow. There is much more to come. But the bible says that anyone who is against Israel wont be blessed, and that includes the U.S. Obama is part of satan’s plan to stir up what he can before Christ returns and takes over.
Typical liberal . . . attacks when he has nothing else.