Louisiana Looks to President Obama for Economic Relief

A brown pelican covered in oil sits on the beach at East Grand Terre Island along the Louisiana coast on Thursday, June 3, 2010.

/ AP/Charlie Riedel

As President Obama heads for Louisiana for his second visit to the Gulf in eight days, the editors of the local paper are asking some hard questions. In an editorial today, The Times-Picayune editors expressed concern about the economic impact on the state from the spill and the moratorium on deep water oil exploration. 

"We're already reeling from the loss of thousands of fishing industry jobs," The Times-Picayune editors wrote. "We now could see an estimated 20,000 oil-services jobs vanish due to your six-month federal moratorium on deepwater exploratory drilling. That could do even greater damage to the economy than the well-chronicled fishing industry losses."  

Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal sent a letter to President Obama and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar titled, "The Severe Impacts of Moratorium on Deepwater Drilling."

I am writing to express my grave concerns regarding the severe economic impact of a six-month (or longer) suspension of activity at 33 previously permitted deepwater drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, including and in particular the 22 deepwater drilling rigs currently in operation off the Louisiana coast.  

Already, Louisiana has suffered severe negative economic and ecological impacts from the BP oil spill. Our seafood industry is experiencing huge economic losses that have only been partially mitigated by a frustratingly slow and inadequate BP claims process. Moreover, our precious wetlands are suffering incalculable, permanent damages, while our tourism industry faces escalating losses.  

During one of the most challenging economic periods in decades, the last thing we need is to enact public policies that will certainly destroy thousands of existing jobs while preventing the creation of thousands more. 

The newspaper asked why the government needs six months to access what went wrong with the Deepwater Horizon rig and come up with new safety guidelines. The editors said that the Coast Guard and the Minerals Management Service have weighed in with analysis, and numerous hearings in Washington related to the oil spill-related have surfaced issues with deep-ocean drilling. And, a presidential commission has been assembled to investigate the spill, hold public hearings and offer recommendations for the oil drilling industry.

After 46 days of oil spewing and attempts to stop the flow, there is enough blame spread around and obvious safety measures that can be applied to avoid a repeat of the BP spill. 

The best advice on how to avoid future deep-water oil disasters so for didn't come from a scientist or presidential commission.  In his New York Times commentary Herbert wrote, "If a bank is too big to fail, it's way too big to exist. If an oil well is too far beneath the sea to be plugged when something goes wrong, it's too deep to be drilled in the first place."

BP CEO Tony Hayward seems to agree with Herbert  an op-ed he wrote that appeared in the Wall Street Journal: "It is clear that our industry should be better prepared to address deep sea accidents of this type and magnitude."  

Hayward continued, "We remain in uncharted territory--none of these approaches has ever been attempted in water a mile deep, where the extreme cold and the intense pressures require experts to carefully adapt proven techniques."   

It's important to explore uncharted waters, but it's equally important to be prepared when things go badly, whether in deep space or subsea space. BP went about its work like a fledgling trapeze artist without a net. 

As a result, the Gulf coast states have an increasingly ravaged coastline and economic dilemma, with thousands of oil services jobs in jeopardy.

Like the pelicans caught in the spill, the people in Louisiana are covered in oil. The toll in their case is their livelihoods, and they will ask a "furious"  Mr. Obama today what he plans to do to solve their dilemma.

Washington Unplugged: Does Obama Have a Problem with Lack of Emotion?
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Poll: Obama, BP Should be Doing More on Gulf Spill
CBSNews.com Special Report: Disaster in the Gulf

[tikiboo41]

When one American is hurt by a man made problem that is one too many. When millions are hurt by a foreign company who was greedy that is unexcusable. We Americans are paying the price for foreign owned businesses' greed and laziness. We need to quit supporting foreign owned businesses. Until we do when will the next disaster happen? BP better pay for the cleanup and all the lost jobs for years and years - then quit doing business in America. Democrats and Republicans better start working together to solve all issues or get out of office. Do it for the People and not the Lobbyists. I'm sick of the blame game and everyone I know is too. We all need each other and every state needs the other states to do business with them -- whether they are blue or red. My heart goes out to all the gulf. They are good people down there.

[pasmalltown]

Thank you, especially for: "Democrats and Republicans better start working together to solve all issues or get out of office. Do it for the People and not the Lobbyists. I'm sick of the blame game..."
One excellent summary of the real problem which needs to be repeated over and over again.......

[milanaperducci]

And I don't give a hoot who belongs to what party, this is all so ridiculous, they and we all need to get together and work together, this is one of the most maddening things about this country, its is always turns into Republicans vs. Democrats.

[MurdochSucks]

by RobAla June 4, 2010 2:07 PM EDT
I'm not a member of any political party. Bailouts are one thing, but it is the duty of the federal government to protect people and property during and after a disaster. We have a disaster; we have an emergency.

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I agree to that. We need to show the Red states clemency even as they bite the hand that feeds. They are victims of their own representative ignorance. Let's help them through this, and perhaps they will wake up and stop voting anti-government politicians into office.

[1renegade]

Let's see... Red States... automotive fuels, natural gas, heating oil, all types of food beef, pork, grains, vegetables, fruits, poultry on so on... these states are the ones that feed most of the country. The only ignorance here is being displayed by yourself.

[pasmalltown]

"Red States.." "..these states are the ones that feed most of the country.."
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Please define what you mean here. Because the states affected by this oil spill are on the Gulf Coast. If you're really trying to suggest that the Gulf Coast states "feed most of the country" it would seem you are displaying some "ignorance here"..........

[SueZeeeQue]

Republitards are against big government bailouts except when they're for them.

[RobAla]

I'm not a member of any political party. Bailouts are one thing, but it is the duty of the federal government to protect people and property during and after a disaster. We have a disaster; we have an emergency.

[retm-w]

So in your opinion the American citizens in those States should suffer because of their political affiliation. Everything is party with you, and I thought liberals were supposed to care about their fellow Americans.

[msimamaji]

Guess what!
While the afflicted people of Louisiana are looking to DC to bail them out, Republican Governor Bobby Jindal and Republican Senator David Vitters are demanding that President Obama lift the 6 month moratorium on off-shore drilling. It doesn't matter to the GOP that 22 of the wells that Obama has shut down are deep water rigs. It doesn't matter that the oil industry has aboslutely no fool-proof way to avoid future disasters. For the GOP, it's always the same - "drill, baby, drill." And when "drill baby drill" becomes "spill,baby spill" they'll turn around and blame Obama for not staging enough hizzy-fits.
Once again, the Republican Party proves they are the Party of NO - No Responsibility. These idiots are not fit to govern.

P.s. That includes Sarah Palin. She hasn't told anyone - but her husband worked for BP for 18 years. She's as much of a puppet of the oil companies as everyone else in the GOP

[MurdochSucks]

Yes, she also has taken BP donations. However, she will not point that out, at the same time she will point out that Obama has received donations from BP. She's a total ******.

The second thing, is you are right the GOP guys begging for help are the very ones that want to start drilling again. Why? If the answer is independence on foreign oil, that's a smoke screen, or an oil slick. Most of the oil coming out of our ground goes to the international oil market. It is not being brought directly to the US for refinement, as the GOP may have you assume. So, domestic oil drilling doesn't do a thing to prevent international dependence. Drill baby, drill turned to spill baby, spill and now is kill babies, kill which ends in Kill Planet, Kill!

[retm-w]

Her husband wasn't an executive at BP he was a part time blue collar worker and if you paid any attention during the election this was made public.

[Palin_for_Presidentess]

Oh I see. NOW they want help from Washington. Hypocrites!

[milanaperducci]

We have lost our fishing industry, we are losing tourism and with the moratorium on offshore drilling, tens of thousands of people will be left jobless. Those are 3 major industries for us and the source of income for most of South Louisiana. This will be devastating. If this had happened wherever you are, and you have a family to support, wouldn't you be upset too? And they want Louisiana to wait until 2017 to get their 37.5 %share of Oil Revenue while 5 other states have been getting 50% of oil revenues for years.

[IndepTex20]

by Palin_for_Presidentess June 4, 2010 12:02 PM EDT

Did you by chance read the reply from Milanaperducci? Understand now? BTW, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 directs the president to take charge during an event of this nature...........in other words "make things happen" to remediate the breach and the spill, as well as the clean-up!! Sad thing is your president has never worked a day in his life, never been in charge of anything more than social events but moreso is in totally over his head as president. He was and continues to be unqaulified for his position!