July 28, 2010
WOLFE-HOLZAPFEL CALL ON PRESIDENT TO RETHINK POSITION ON OFF-SHORE DRILLING
As President Obama visits New Jersey today to promote federal legislation aimed at providing assistance to small businesses, Assemblymen Dave Wolfe and Jim Holzapfel, both R-Ocean, said that unless the President reverses his position on off-shore drilling for oil and natural gas, such help would be short-lived if a similar spill were to occur along the eastern seaboard.
The legislators said Tuesday’s announcement by the administration that it was cancelling two off-shore lease sales, one off the Virginia coast, was a step in the right direction, but that it didn’t represent a change in the President’s position.
“If the President doesn’t change his stance on exploration along the Atlantic coast, then I wonder what lessons he learned from the BP oil spill,” said Wolfe, who is the Assembly Deputy Republican Leader. “We cannot afford to put key components of our state’s economy at risk with off-shore drilling. Many small businesses wouldn’t be able to recover from a disaster like the one in Louisiana. As we have seen, it takes only one drilling mishap to ruin the lives and businesses of many hard-working people.”
“Regardless of size, many businesses along our coast could not sustain the impact of what happened in the gulf,” said Holzapfel. “Businesses along the Jersey Shore have been struggling to survive since the recession began almost two years ago. Those who have stayed afloat don’t need to worry about whether they could withstand a similar tragedy along the eastern seaboard.”
 | District 10 |
 | District 10 |