[Page H4681]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1020
 WHY DOES THE ADMINISTRATION WANT TO PURPOSELY AND PUNITIVELY DESTROY 
                                 JOBS?

  (Mr. POE of Texas asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute.)
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, a Federal judge stated yesterday the 
administration's ban on deepwater drilling was improper and illegal. 
The government imposed a 6-month moratorium after the BP disaster. Non-
BP oil-related industries sued, saying the ban would put them out of 
business and cost thousands of jobs.
  The government tried to justify the ban, but the judge said, ``The 
government's explanation abuses reason and common sense.'' The 
government claimed its engineers supported the ban, but that's just not 
true.
  The judge granted the injunction, stating the ban was ``arbitrary'', 
``capricious'' and ``punitive''. In other words, the administration had 
no scientific basis for this absurd moratorium. The judge stated the 
oil-related industries ``would suffer irreparable harm'' by the 
moratorium. Of course, the administration doesn't care. Determined to 
stop deepwater drilling, the administration is going to appeal and 
issue another moratorium.
  Mr. Speaker, why does the administration hate the energy industry in 
the gulf? Why does the administration want to purposely destroy 
American jobs? President Reagan was right: ``The government is the 
problem.''
  And that's just the way it is.

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