The National Association of Manufacturers sent a “Key Vote” Letter today to the U.S. Senate expressing support for S. 953, the Offshore Production and Safety Act of 2011. A vote is expected today at 2:30 pm.

From the letter:

S. 953 provides for key safety provision aimed at further ensuring environmental protection and worker safety.  The bill also provides for an efficient and responsible response to applications by requiring the Department of Interior to respond to an application within 30 days of receipt.  In addition, the legislation will open more areas in the OCS for drilling which will expand the ability to explore and develop our domestic sources of energy more effectively.  

Increasing access to domestic sources of reliable energy, both onshore and offshore, is essential to the long-term health of American manufacturing. While investments in new energy sources and efforts to boost efficiency gains play critical roles in meeting our nation’s future energy demands we cannot ignore the critical need to develop and utilize our domestic sources of energy. 

NAM Key Votes are determined by an advisory committee of NAM member companies, both large and small. The votes are used to rate a member of Congress’ record on manufacturing-related issues.

UPDATE (3:45 p.m., CW): The Senate defeated the cloture motion, 42-57.

The Washington Post editorialists are not persuaded by President Obama’s odd pleas to the Brazilians to drill more offshore while the Administration slow walks domestic drilling permits in the Gulf of Mexico. From today’s lead editorial, “Oil NIMBY-ISM“:

WHEN WAS the last time an American president stood before an audience in a foreign country and announced that he looked forward to importing more of its oil? Answer: Just over a week ago, when President Obama joined political and business leaders in Brasilia in hailing the fact that their newly discovered offshore petroleum reserves might be twice as large as those in the United States. Americans “want to help with technology and support to develop these oil reserves safely, and when you’re ready to start selling, we want to be one of your best customers,” Mr. Obama said….

Mr. Obama’s enthusiasm for punching holes in the ocean floor off Brazil is hard to reconcile with his decision, announced Dec. 1, to keep the waters off the East and West coasts and the eastern Gulf of Mexico off-limits to exploration indefinitely. His policy was a reversal of an earlier decision he had made to open some of those areas. We can understand that reversal, after the massive oil spill in the western Gulf last year. And, demonstrating a measure of flexibility even after the disaster, the administration has announced five deep-water drilling permits in the western Gulf since the spill.

The Post’s reference to NIMBY-ism makes the point that by pushing energy development overseas, the Obama Administration sends it to countries less able or inclined to protect the environment, e.g., Nigeria or Angola.

Today’s Post editorial is just the latest in a wave of pointed criticisms against President Obama for his short-sighted remarks in Brazil on energy development. Others: (continue reading…)

“How to kill my company” is the headline in today’s hard copy Washington Post for column by Randy Stilley, president and chief executive of Seahawk Drilling, which owned and operated 20 jackup rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. The online headline is the less provocative but no less true, “A preventable bankruptcy in the Gulf of Mexico.”

Last month, Seahawk Drilling declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced the sale of its assets to shallow-water driller Hercules Offshore. This devastating decision was the culmination of a long period in which we found our customers unable to secure permits for work in the Gulf of Mexico despite the fact that both our industry and our company have excellent safety records. In the 11 months after the Deepwater Horizon accident, it became clear that Seahawk’s greatest rival was no longer our industry competitors but the U.S. government. (continue reading…)

Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) participated in a conference call on energy and national defense issues today, and a strong case was made for policies that encourage U.S. energy security and economic growth. Reuters spots this news:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan said on Tuesday he did not think the Senate would pass climate change legislation this year, but instead would focus on separate energy legislation that would require more electricity supplies to be generated from renewable sources and expand offshore drilling into the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

This is newsy because Sen. Dorgan is making a prediction AND he’s a member of the Senate Democratic leadership. More coverage …

• The Hill (blog), “Dorgan calls climate bill unlikely in 2010, pushes for energy measure“
• New York Times, “Senate Not Seen Passing Climate Bill In 2010“

The impetus for today’s call was a new report issued by the group, Securing America’s Future Energy, “Eastern Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Exploration and Military Readiness.” The summary states:

The paper, produced in collaboration with Commonwealth Consulting Corporation, led by Col. Martin Sullivan, USMC (Ret.), concludes that there is no credible evidence that expanded oil and natural gas exploration and development in the Eastern Gulf would adversely affect military missions in that area.

Specifically, the report examines earlier claims of potential impacts (which were made prior to the Defense Department putting into place systems to evaluate such claims), assesses rates of usage by the United States military in the affected areas, explains current methods of controlling airspace and surface actions in the Gulf, and analyzes encroachment factors. It concludes that the Pentagon until very recently had no systematic tools for measuring the effect outside factors had on training and testing, and now that those tools are being put into place, they are clearly showing that oil and natural gas production will not encroach on the military missions in the Gulf.

The full report is here. Coverage:

• Tampabay.com, “Military brass: Gulf drilling won’t harm training“
• The Jacksonville Observer, “Dorgan, Military Officials to Release Pro-Drilling“