Hurry up and let's get little done! When it came to formulating a sane national energy policy-one that relies on the accelerated development of domestic oil and gas resources and not just alternative fuels and conservation-this seems to have been the mindset of a Republican-controlled Congress, particularly after it achieved a strengthened majority in 2004. Worse still, this mentality is likely to be perpetuated, even accelerated, in the new, less-industry-friendly Democratic Congress. True enough, in the waning hours before the Republican-held 109th Congress adjourned this December, it sent President Bush legislation that would open more than 8 million deepwater Gulf of Mexico acres offshore Florida to oil and gas drilling. But at the same time, the legislation extends a ban on oil and gas drilling elsewhere offshore Florida until 2022. Just days prior to this half-hearted move by Congress, Barry Russell, president of the IPAA (Independent Petroleum Association of America), noted quite accurately that this legislation isn't the solution, but merely a step-we would say a baby step-toward achieving greater U.S. energy security. "The federal government still maintains its unnecessary [drilling] moratoria on the East and West coasts off the U.S. as well as [other parts of] the eastern Gulf of Mexico," he observes. He stresses, "American policy-makers must stop this 'yes-you-can; no-you-can't' paradox." For more on this, see the January issue of Oil and Gas Investor. For a subscription, call 713-260-6441.

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