The U.S. Export-Import Bank Exporting Jobs to China

Lost jobs in the Gulf from the drilling ban, lost hi-tech jobs in Florida and Texas from cancellations of the manned space program, lost manufacturing jobs in Wisconsin. The Obama Aministration in a full court press against private sector jobs that nobody seems to notice. Sensenbrenner, Ryan Urge Export-Import Bank to Reverse India Plant Ruling ‘You Are Simply Exporting Jobs to China’

Washington, D.C. –The U.S. Export-Import Bank should place jobs over environmental activism and reverse its recent decision not to extend loan guarantees to an Indian power plant that planned to make a significant equipment purchase from a Wisconsin company, Reps. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis, and Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said in a letter to the bank’s chairman.

“With the national unemployment rate continuing to hover close to 10 percent, all steps should be taken to reinvigorate the economy and bring jobs to the United States,” the letter to Export-Import Bank Chairman Fred Hochberg said. “However, with this decision, you are simply exporting American jobs to China.”

By rejecting a bid for an approximate $600 million loan guarantee for Reliance Power Ltd.’s coal-fired power generation station near Sasan, India, the Export-Import Bank prevented South Milwaukee-based manufacturer Bucyrus International Inc. from creating more than 1,000 jobs, Sensenbrenner and Ryan said in the letter. Bucyrus International’s chief executive told the media that the decision would cost up to 300 jobs in Wisconsin, and up to 700 jobs in other states.

“There’s no clearer demonstration of how this Administration’s environmental activism will cost U.S. jobs than this ruling by the Export-Import Bank,” said Sensenbrenner, Ranking Republican on the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. “This baffling decision will have a direct impact on Wisconsin’s people and its economy and it shows to just what lengths the Administration will go to push its environmental agenda. The only guarantee that the Export-Import Bank offers is that no Americans will benefit from this project.”

The bank’s decision won’t prevent India from moving forward with the project, the letter said, but instead of purchasing equipment from an American manufacturer, Reliance Power will likely turn to firms in China and Belarus for its industrial hardware. “Climate change is a global issue and greenhouse gas emissions are not confined within geographic boundaries,” the letter said. “Therefore, your decision not only eliminates American jobs, it will not mitigate climate change in any manner.”

“The Administration’s actions show that attempting to reduce reducing global warming – by a fraction of a degree over the next century – is a higher priority than keeping Wisconsin residents employed now. The vibrancy and competitiveness of the American economy should never take a back seat to political ideology and it’s reprehensible that the Administration has arrived at the faulty conclusion that we are incapable of enacting energy policies that are both environmentally friendly and economically beneficial,” said Ryan, Ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee. “American products and workers can compete with the best in the world, if they are given a chance – unfortunately, in this instance, they were not. Should the Administration fail to reverse this decision, or worse, should it continue with muscling through a byzantine cap-and-trade scheme, we need only to look to Bucyrus to see the repercussions.”

The bank’s decision also reflected the Administration’s environmental policies, Sensenbrenner and Ryan said. After the decision, Hochberg released a statement citing the Administration’s “commitment to transition away from high-carbon investments.” The Departments of State and Treasury also support the bank’s decision to reject the loan guarantees.

Related Letter To Administration in PDF Format:Sensenbrenner, Ryan Urge Export-Import Bank to Reverse India Plant Ruling

Republicans - Select Committee on Energy Independance and Global Warming H2-344 Ford House Office Building Washington, D.C. 20515 Phone: (202) 225-0110 | Fax: (202) 225-0095

Governor Bobby Jindal Calls On Obama Administration To Get In The War To Stop Oil

GRAND ISLE – Today, Governor Bobby Jindal viewed firsthand a massive and heavy oil slick that is roughly three miles off the coast of Grand Isle where local leaders have been waiting weeks for federal officials to issue a permit to narrow passes and block oil from coming into Louisiana’s wetlands.

Governor Jindal called on federal officials to immediately issue authorization for the project so work can begin to stop more heavy oil from hitting Louisiana’s coast.

Governor Jindal said, “We saw waves of very heavy bands of oil that are just a few miles off our coast. We know the slick is heading our way and we need to do everything to fight the oil off our coast. Our coastal leaders have a plan to battle the spill, but we have been waiting for weeks now for federal officials to issue a permit and approve the plan.

“Over a month ago, the towns of Grand Isle and Lafitte, together with Jefferson Parish have been asking for a permit to narrow the five eastern Barataria Passes and to establish active sorbent and removal operations on barges. So far, two passes have been approved for barges – Pass Abel and Four-Bayou Pass. The federal government still has not approved rock or other measures necessary to direct the surface and subsurface oil to the vacuum barges. There are tons of rocks just sitting there waiting to be deployed.

“Once again, federal agencies that have done little while 2,300 square miles of wetlands disappear now tell us that they have delayed the rock approval because they are worried about ‘protecting our coast.’ The federal agencies are saying rocks in the water would cause more damage than the oil that is coming our way. Only someone in Washington would be arguing about that. This defies logic and common sense.

“We now know that a large quantity of oil is moving toward our coastline as we speak. Contractors were ready to begin placing rock this weekend and they still stand ready to begin immediately placing the rock upon getting the emergency authorization from the Army Corps of Engineers. We are again calling on the Corps to grant emergency authorization immediately so this work can begin. Requests for minor details or additional analyses can be handled after a permit is issued – but we need to get to work on protecting this coast.

“Over three weeks ago, The Mayor of Grand Isle and I talked to the President about this plan and we are still fighting to get approval to use the rocks. This is a war against the oil down here. We don’t need more talking. We need more action. If the federal government believes this is a war, they need decide if they're in the war to win it or not.

“Thankfully, the Mayor of Grand Isle and leaders in Jefferson have refused to take no for an answer when it comes to protecting their land – and we will continue to fight alongside them in this battle against federal red tape and the oil that threatens the future of our land and our people.”

DREDGING/SAND-BERM UPDATE

Governor Jindal said, “To date, the cutterhead dredge CALIFORNIA has dredged over 595,000 cubic yards of material for our berm on the northern Chandeleur Islands. On the west side of the river, 240,000 cubic yards of material has been moved to date.

“The CALIFORNIA has been shut down for six days because the Corps and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service made us move the dredge. The Corps of Engineers refuses to beneficially use the millions of cubic yards of material they dredge annually from our rivers and navigation channels – and this was one of the federal agencies that shut us down.

“U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – the agency that manages and owns the Chandeleur Islands as they have disappeared to just a fraction of their original size – is now saying that they are concerned that creating more land out there and helping to restore our coastal wetlands could cause ‘additional erosion.’

“There was oil on these islands over the weekend and we know our newly created sand berm has already stopped small volumes of oil from getting into our wetlands. Unfortunately, just south of the sand berms, this oil has already gone past what is left of the deteriorating island chain and is now heading toward our wetlands.

“We are just six days after the Corps and U.S. Fish shut us down and our fears have been confirmed. Oil is in the northern islands and will continue to contaminate our fisheries, kill our wetlands and threaten our way of life here in Louisiana.

“We need more urgency from the federal response. We need them to put the red tape aside. We need to them to really treat this oil spill like a war. You don’t wait for studies and weeks and weeks for federal permits in the middle of a war. You do what you need to do as quickly as possible to protect your land and your people.

“That is what we are doing on the front lines here every day here in Louisiana and we need the federal government to join us. We absolutely will not be held back. We will not let our people and our land suffer while we wait on the federal government to realize that we need more resources and effort put into this response.”

UPDATE ON ADDITIONAL COASTAL PROTECTION INITIATIVES

*
Louisiana National Guardsmen continue construction operations to install approximately 8.5 miles of HESCO barrier on the shoreline of Cameron Parish. Crews have stretched over 6 miles of wall to provide an initial protection to the coast. Approximately 4.2 miles is completely filled.
* There are currently 34 vacuum barge systems operating or in the stages of deploying to operate to collect oil.
* At Pelican and Scofield Islands – 8 gaps on Pelican Island are complete. The National Guard continues helicopter operations on Scofield Island to complete two out of the six remaining gaps there. To date, over 10,900 sandbags have been dropped on Scofield Island – and a total of more than 27 million pounds of sand in total as part of sand-fill operations.
* In support of Jefferson Parish and Grand Isle, the Louisiana National Guard has completed all 8.1 miles of Tiger Dam in Grand Isle. ###

TEXT CREDIT: Office of the Governor || PO Box 94004, Baton Rouge, LA 70804 || Contact the Governor

PHOTO CREDIT: CNN