July 14, 2009 - Congressman Trent Franks (R - AZ), noting the one-year anniversary of President Bush's elimination of the executive ban on domestic offshore drilling for oil, today issued the following statement:

"After energy prices skyrocketed last summer, President Bush lifted the 18 year-old moratorium on offshore drilling, and yet today, one year later, Americans do not have a single drop of oil to show for it.

"As we continue to become increasingly dependent on potentially dangerous foreign sources of oil, the Obama Administration has inexplicably chosen to impose bureaucratic roadblocks to prevent American companies from tapping into these vast American resources, which would create much-needed jobs in our ailing economy and begin to set America on track to energy independence.

"As energy prices begin to climb once again, it is critical that the Administration move immediately to unlock the reserves that Congress has authorized and the American people have demanded."