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Representative Mike Coffman’s (CO-06) bill to create jobs and increase American-made energy, which recently passed out of the House Resource Committee with bipartisan support, will be included in a wider House comprehensive energy agenda.  Coffman’s bill,H.R. 4382, Providing Leasing Certainty for American Energy Act, reforms the leasing process for onshore oil and natural gas projects on federal land in order to eliminate unnecessary government delays and hurdles while encouraging job creation and economic growth.

“Increased energy production here in the United States will create jobs and improve our economy. Thirty-eight straight months of higher than 8% unemployment is enough.  We must utilize the employment and financial potential of our energy resources,” said Coffman. “The jobs this bill and the others in the package will create are high paying and will produce huge economic benefits for rest of the economy.  Americans working directly in the oil and gas sector are currently paid an average of $28.30 per hour – more than in the manufacturing, wholesale trade, education, finance, and information technology sectors.  And, investment in this industry spreads widely and further creates tens of thousands of indirect jobs, especially in manufacturing. ”

The Obama administration has increasingly put up barriers that have driven out development on federal lands and this has a disproportionately negative impact on Colorado and other Western states where much of the land is owned by the federal government.  Coffman’s legislation would require the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to approve 25% of all leases nominated by industry for development to ensure a steady, reliable exploration of our abundant resources every year.  This will only involve lands that have already been designated as environmentally suitable for oil and gas development by the federal government.  

Historically, roughly 30% of available acreage has been leased, but in 2011 only 3% was actually approved by the BLM.  In Colorado alone, the total number of new leases granted by the BLM was down from 363 in 2006 to only 11 in 2011. The bill will ensure steady, reliable exploration of our abundant resources every year, and the jobs that come with the expanded energy development.

“More energy production in the United States translates to more jobs here and less of our money flowing out of the country to buy the energy America needs.  My legislation will help accomplish that” said Coffman.

Coffman’s bill will be included in The Domestic Energy and Jobs Act, a comprehensive energy agenda that reflects a true all-of-the-above approach to energy production that will not only reduce energy costs that hard-working families and small businesses currently face, but also spur badly needed economy growth and job creation.