Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. Speaker, a blanket moratorium is not the answer. It will not measurably reduce risk. It will have a lasting impact on the Nation's economy, which may be greater than that of the oil spill. We do not believe in punishing the innocent. Overcome emotion with logic. These are quotes from five engineers from the National Academy of Engineering who object to the President's moratorium.
This is not a drilling moratorium; it is a jobs moratorium. It is an assault on those most injured by the gulf oil spill. By some estimates, over 100,000 Americans--welders, pipe fitters, engineers, caterers, roustabouts--will lose their jobs because of this moratorium, decent, hardworking Americans.
Eleven thousand people yesterday filled the Cajun Dome in Lafayette, Louisiana, to protest the jobs moratorium. They're begging that politics be put aside, the President listen to the scientists, and let the workers return to work supplying our Nation's energy needs.