Were you gracious enough to agree to submit a letter to the Department of the Interior/Minerals Management Service based on a phone call from The Institute for Liberty?  Please accept our greatest thanks for your participation!  A copy of the letter that was sent on your behalf is below:

Ms. Renee Orr
Chief, Leasing Division
Minerals Management Service, MS 4010
381 Elden Street
Herndon, VA 20170-4817

(submitted electronically)

2010-2015 Oil and Gas Leasing in the Outer Continental Shelf

Dear Ms. Orr:

I am submitting these comments in response to the Minerals Management Service?s Request for Comments on the Draft Proposed Program, 2010-2015 Oil and Gas Leasing in the Outer Continental Shelf. Specifically, my comments will focus on the importance of ensuring that American small businesses continue to have access to abundant and reliable sources of domestic energy.

Small businesses are the engine of the American economy. Our economic recovery will depend on ensuring the viability of American small business. Energy remains the lifeblood of those small businesses. Without access to reliable and inexpensive sources of energy, those small businesses cannot succeed and economic recovery cannot occur.

Maintaining domestic supplies of oil is critical to keeping energy supplies reliable and affordable for American small business. Americans must no longer depend entirely on oil that comes from unstable nations or nations that are unfriendly to us. It has never been more important to seek out available sources of oil here in the United States, especially from the Outer Continental Shelf.

Recently, the Department of the Interior abruptly changed its plans to open up greater amounts of off-shore territory in Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico to drilling for oil. This decision was wrong. Areas off the coast of Alaska alone have as much oil as Kuwait, with the infrastructure already in place to deliver those supplies to the markets that need it. Americans need that oil today.

I support opening up greater areas off the coast of the United States to off-shore drilling. Areas off the Southeast Coast of the United States should be opened up for drilling and a new 5-year plan process should be commenced. This plan should be as broad and expansive as possible.

Thank you.