The late, great Paul Newman famously said he would never cheat on his wife, Joanne Woodward, because, "Why fool around with hamburger when you have steak at home?" For Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, the same theory applies for oil development.
“President Obama didn’t have to go all the way to Brazil to find a ‘new, safe, and stable’ source of oil,” Begich said in a Wednesday statement. “Energy opportunities for the U.S. are right here in Alaska. We have to stop talking about increasing domestic production and actually invest in home-grown jobs.”
Begich issued the statement after Obama’s five-day three-country trip to Latin America. While in Brazil on Saturday, Obama said, “By some estimates, the oil you recently discovered off the shores of Brazil could amount to twice the reserves we have in the United States. We want to work with you. We want to help with technology and support to develop these oil reserves safely, and when you’re ready to start selling, we want to be one of your best customers.”
But Begich said there’s no reason for the United States to turn its attention elsewhere when there is the potential to “encourage and promote development that creates new, safe, and stable domestic sources of energy, which lower our dependency on foreign oil.”
“I urge President Obama to focus on what we can do in our own country, in Alaska, rather than efforts to assist overseas development of oil and natural gas,” he wrote.
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