Comments about ‘Bishop, Chaffetz blast Obama over oil exploration delay’

I wonder why Bishop and Chaffetz don't blast Bush for 8 years of deficit spending and trashing our Constitution and civil liberties?

Energy independence is so vital to our National security - especially now that we are at the mercy of our enemies to supply much of our energy needs. Production would also be a major boon to our slumping economy and growing unemployment. Obama's disregard to tap into our natural resources is so irresponsible. I appreciate Chaffetz & Bishop for making this an issue and aggresively moving forward with it.

I find it interesting when comments that are critial to Obama and his mis-managment of our economy, immediatly create attacks to a previous administration. Let's focus on the "change" we were promised and haven't received from the current adminstration. Yes, there were many things that Bush did that were unconstitutional; however what do we accomplish focusing on someone who is not even our president any more?? Let's focus on the present and our current President who took an oath to defend the Constitution and is currently not living up to that oath. I thought Obama was about change, he is just more of the same with higher tax burden for everyone.Hope you all are loving that change he kept talking about.........

Thank you Rob Bishop & Jason Chaffetz for doing what is best for the country. We must become more independant if we are going to climb out of this slump. I agree with Nancy & Kris, Obama does not have the best interests of the American People, especially on this issue.

Bishop and Chaffetz.

Rob Bishop & Jason Chaffetz are clowns - pork barrel loving blowhards. Puppets of the status quo, oil company shills. Beholden to special interests and lobbyists who pay for their campaigns and who knows what else. No one will give these hypocrites the ime of day, and rightfully so. On the ponit, America will never have energy independence as long as oil is the cornerstone. the drilling champs are only prolonging our submission to OPEC.

We don't need oil and gas, just longer extension cords.

Yes, the Grand Oil Party has the best interested of the oil industry at heart -- keep America addicted to oil and regardless of where it comes from, allow the American people to pay the global commodity price of oil.

Since Nixon, we've had opportunities to change the game with our oil dependency, and with every administration, particularly with Reagan, the American people have been let down and the screws have been tightened to keep us at the mercy of Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the like.

To get access to oil in Alaska or off the coasts, it will take 10 years for the permits, vetting of sites, subsidies to be released to the foreign oil companies, etc. to make more American oil to flow. Ten years to preserve the status quo of oil. Imagine what innovations could happen in ten years if the federal government promoted real change, rather than continued addiction.

With electric cars and more plug-in hybrid electrics on their way next year, within ten years, America could be well on its way to turning away from oil. In that decade, we should be boosting our domestic electricity grid and production -- not reinforcing oil dependency.

You should realize that oil is used for so much more than energy. One article I read said 66% is used for transportation, and 34% is used for making plastics, synthetic fabrics, cleaning supplies, medicines, lubricants, propane, crayons, inks, road paving materials, vinyl siding, heart valves, garden hoses, even bubble gum.

Your rantings sound ridiculous. We live in oil country here in eastern Utah, and the economy is in a very bad slump. Because of restrictions, lack of confidence in the government, and other reasons, including the decreased price of oil, several drilling and development companies have pulled out, or have stacked out their rigs until it become more economical to drill. Hundreds of people are out of work, losing their homes, can't even find work as dishwashers. I work for a local newspaper, and our classified ads for help wanted have almost completely disappeared, while ads selling all kinds of household goods, and rentals on homes people are trying not to lose, have quadrupled. We appreciate people like Bishop and Chaffetz who are trying to get someone back East to understand the West a little better.

We can, and should, become independent of foreign oil producers.

The point is, we could become much more independent if we were allowed to do what we know how to do here in the Uintah Basin, and in other similar areas, and that's to produce oil and natural gas. There is plenty of it here, just needing to be tapped. Older wells can be deepened and re-worked, with newer technology. Oil shale and tar sands could be developed. Sure, it takes some time, but the longer we wait to start, the longer it will be before we realize the benefits. We DON'T have to be completely dependent on OPEC, or South American producers, such as Venezuela. During the slowdown in the early 80's, many of the wells drilled at that time were capped and shut down. Some of them have been opened and reworked in recent years, and are producing again, and the rest could be, also.

It's not a matter of being "addicted" to oil. We need petroleum products for much more than just fuel. See my post at 8:52. It's a matter of being practical, and of providing for our own country, with our own products, for our own economy.

I'm assuming so, but I'd never know it from this article. I appreciate the several quotes from the Congressmen, but perhaps at least passing reference could have been made to possible reason(s) the administration gives for not acting on this issue. Or maybe there aren't any...?

They don't know where the oil already is? Pshaw!

They're already drilling all over the country; if you travel, you see it.

Eastern Utah: so what IF you get a short-term oil boom (like Rock Springs, Wyoming)? Have you been to Rock Springs lately? YOU all won't get the jobs; most hired are the people who already work for the drilling companies. You will, however, need more trailer parks to hold them - at a cost to you taxpayers.

Anyone have bottled water in front of them? Good! Now imagine that bottle 1/3 full of oil. That represents the cost of creating the plastic, and hauling tap water around the country to the store, where you buy it and drink it instead of the tap water.

Get in to the 21st century, cars will be running on everything but oil, the more we depend on oil the more we are enslaved by the Middle East. Even if we do drill for oil its not enough to keep us going for a month..develope new technology so we don't have to drill for oil. Obama is right!.

Yes, we might be driving electric cars, but the chair you are sitting on is likely plastic with plastic material.

We might not need the oil in the future to burn, but we are still going to need it.

It will take a while before we won't need it to burn.

How dishonest and how disengenuous!

If YOU really cared about the constitution and civil rights issues, then you would attack the liberla progressives, the Democrats and the DEMOcrat presidents as well,

since they are doing the SAME things and continuing to do the same things, and are NOW and in the past have done or doing MUCH worse.

If people like Bishop and Chaffetz had spoken out, would you have heard when you are listening with a partisan ear?

I don't know what is more annoying - Obama's grin or Jason's Chaffetz's teeth. You would think that a man who chaired Michael Dukakis' Presidential Campaign in Utah could afford to fix his smile.

Barack and Jason - two liberals.

Opening up restricted American oil will not anything for us except create some jobs. We will not become energy independant because we will not nationalize the oil industry. So every drop of oil we produce will go to the highest bidder and very unlikely to reduce the cost of gas we pay for.

We need accept the fact that renewable energy is the future and the government and private sector should parnter in devoloping and bringing renewable energy to the market faster.

I agree, and disagree, with Rudy's comments at 10:52pm. Yes, opening up drilling will create jobs, a lot of them, and there is a trickle-down effect. Employed people spend money for goods and services. Therefore, the providers of those goods and services are able to make a profit and therefore hire more people, who then spend their earnings on other goods and services. See? Here in Vernal, some business have closed, others are really hurting financially, because there are so many unemployed, and others who have given up and left the area, selling everything they own to be able to move. I see it every day in my job at a local newspaper. Former oilfield employees advertise for handyman jobs, but no one can afford to hire them. They have families and homes here and don't want to leave, but often have to. Our son and his family finally moved to Salt Lake to find work when he lost his job in January.

Renewable energy is great, but can not substitute for oil and natural gas. I think the two energy providers could work together, but not one exclusive of the other.