NAM Official urges expansion of domestic energy resources.

Press Release Summary:



NAM member Jeff Uhlenburg urged U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to move forward with Five Year Lease Plan to expand access to natural gas and oil resources on outer continental shelf. At first of four hearings scheduled by Minerals Management Service, Uhlenburg noted direct link between availability of domestic energy supplies and manufacturing employment over last few years. Written comments on MMS proposal will be accepted until September 23, 2009.



Original Press Release:



NAM President's Council Member Jeff Uhlenburg Advocates Expanded Development of OCS Resources



Business Leader Urges Action on Comprehensive Energy Policy

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., April 6, 2009 - National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) member Jeff Uhlenburg, President of Donovan Heat Treating, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, today urged U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to move forward with a "Five Year Lease Plan" that will expand access to natural gas and oil resources on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

Testifying today at a U.S. Department of the Interior field hearing in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Uhlenburg drew analogies between energy cost impacts on his own business with that of the larger manufacturing sector. "Manufacturers use approximately one-third of total energy consumed in the U.S., including 26 percent of natural gas consumed domestically, and are especially vulnerable to volatile energy prices," he said. "Manufacturers use natural gas not only as a feedstock to make products ranging from plastics to pharmaceuticals, which are especially vital to the New Jersey economy, but also as a source of electricity.

"There is a direct link between plentiful domestic energy supplies and employment in the manufacturing sector," Uhlenburg said. "During the past 10 years I've seen my company go from a workforce of 37 employees to 10 employees, due primarily to higher energy costs. Prior to the onset of the financial crisis last year, the manufacturing sector lost more than 3.7 million high paying jobs between 2000, when energy prices began to spike, and mid-2008. We cannot afford to lose more jobs in this economy and we must capitalize on the sources we have at home."

Uhlenburg spoke at the first of four regional hearings scheduled in April by the Minerals Management Service (MMS) of the Department of Interior to accept comments on a draft plan that would open 31 new lease sales on the Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf and Alaska coastlines. The remaining three hearings will be held in New Orleans on April 8, Anchorage, Alaska on April 14 and San Francisco on April 16. In addition to the public hearings, the MMS will be accepting written comments on its proposal until September 23, 2009.

NAM members may submit a pre-drafted comment to the MMS by going to the following link: nam.org/contactMMS

The National Association of Manufacturers is the nation's largest industrial trade association, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the NAM has 11 additional offices across the country. Visit the NAM's web site at www.nam.org for more information about manufacturing and the economy.

1331 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW - Suite 600 - Washington, DC 20004-1790 - www.nam.org

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