Sec. 2. Findings
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The Congress finds and declares the following: The Nation is currently experiencing a national employment emergency, and urgent action is needed to put Americans back to work in well-paid, long-term jobs. The Federal Government distributed over $10,000,000,000 to Federal, State, and Indian accounts from energy production during fiscal year 2009, primarily from oil and natural gas production. The domestic oil and natural gas industry is responsible for approximately 9.2 million jobs.
The approximately 43 million leased Outer Continental Shelf acres currently account for about 15 percent of America’s domestic natural gas production and about 27 percent of America’s domestic oil production. The leasing of these domestic offshore areas for oil and natural gas development provides significant economic benefits to the Federal Government, as well as to States and localities, through the creation and sustenance of jobs and domestic product. The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management currently has authorities under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ( 43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq. ) and related laws that can be effectively utilized to create jobs and revitalize the Nation’s economy.
Effective and expedited development of Gulf of Mexico oil and natural gas resources could generate thousands of new jobs, many of which could be created almost immediately. The coastal regions of the United States have high productivity and contribute approximately 50 percent of the gross domestic product of the United States. The economies and social structure of many communities are dependent on resources from ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems. Supporting science, research, monitoring, modeling, forecasting, exploration, and assessment will continue to improve our understanding of the ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems as well as their long-term economic sustainability.
Safeguarding these ecosystems is crucial to protecting the environment and waters of the United States. The growth of our energy domestic resources is vital to America’s national security.
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