Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson today voted for legislation to increase domestic energy production and bring our country closer to energy independence.  H.R. 2231, the Offshore Energy and Jobs Act, would expand offshore energy production, create over a million new American jobs and lower energy prices. The House passed H.R. 2231 today by a vote of 235-186.

“A growing and thriving economy requires a stable and affordable energy supply, and this bill gets us closer to that goal,” said Simpson. “New technologies will enable us to do oil and gas exploration and production in a way that leaves a very small footprint, and it would be a mistake not to develop these resources in a responsible manner. Failing to do so would not only threaten our nation's own security by increasing our already too-heavy dependence on a volatile, foreign-based energy supply, but it would push the responsibility of producing that oil to countries with far less stringent environmental regulations.”

The Offshore Energy and Jobs Act would require the Department of Interior (DOI) to move forward with new offshore energy production on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, generating $1.5 billion in new revenue over ten years.  The bill also codifies a number of the reforms to offshore energy regulation undertaken by DOI in the wake of the Deep Water Horizon accident in 2010. Simpson chairs the House Interior and Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, which oversees DOI's budget.

H.R. 2231 is now under consideration by the U.S. Senate.