news

Congressman Bob Latta (R-Bowling Green) made the following statement regarding President Obama’s address to the nation this evening.  

“As the cleanup process continues in the Gulf, Americans continue to be frustrated with the lack of management and solutions from all parties involved.  After 57 days, a clear plan should have already been put into action.  While no one could predict the size and scope of this oil spill, safeguards and contingency plans should have been followed that could have reduced the impact of this spill.  

Unfortunately, the President used this tragedy and tonight’s address as a springboard for his jobs- killing Cap and Tax proposal which a majority of Americans continue to oppose.  Under his Cap and Tax plan, the President admitted during the 2008 Presidential campaign that electric rates would ‘skyrocket.’  In addition to Cap and Tax, any plan to suspend or eliminate offshore drilling must be met with hesitation because of the important role petroleum plays in our nation’s economy.  Even a temporary ban could have a severe impact on unemployment and the price of petroleum byproducts.  Any ban on domestic drilling will only increase our dependency on oil from the Middle East and present us with more national security risks.  

As a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, I look forward to upcoming hearings that will cover a wide range of topics surrounding this oil spill.  We all must learn from this tragedy to prevent all spills from ever happening again. “