Hastings calls for pro-energy bill passage in House

U.S. Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., hailed the approval of three bills by the House Natural Resources Committee as vital to ensuring U.S. energy security. The Offshore Energy and Jobs Act (H.R. 2231) would open up parts of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to energy exploration. The National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska Access Act (H.R. 1964) would ensure "timely and efficient" development of the reserve area explored by the federal government from 1944 to 1981. The Native American Energy Act (H.R. 1548) would eliminate "burdensome and duplicative" regulations on energy development on tribal lands. Hastings, who chairs the panel, accused the Obama administration of keeping the energy sector away from vital natural resources. "By doing so, it is blocking the creation of over a million new American jobs and forfeiting hundreds of millions of dollars in much needed revenue," he said in a statement Wednesday. "These bills will unlock our American energy resources on federal lands and waters." The White House has said oil and natural gas production has increased every year since Obama took office in 2009. The measures passed largely along party lines in the Republican-led committee. Energy blog FuelFix said the Senate, controlled by Democrats, is unlikely to follow suit.