Romney calls for increased offshore drilling

Seeking to reset his economic message, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney pledged today to create 3 million jobs and more than $1 trillion in revenue by ramping up offshore oil drilling and giving states more control over energy production on federal land. Romney, reviving a long-elusive goal pushed by presidents and presidential candidates for decades, says his plans would make the United States, along with Canada and Mexico, energy independent by 2020. “This is not some pie-in-the-sky kind of thing,” Romney told voters in Hobbs, the heart of New Mexico’s oil and gas industry. “This is a real achievable objective.” The cornerstone of Romney’s plan is opening up more areas for offshore oil drilling, including in the mid-Atlantic, where it is currently banned. He also wants to give states the power to establish all forms of energy production on federal lands, a significant shift in current policy that could face strong opposition in Congress. His proposals make little mention of renewable sources of energy, like wind and solar, backed by President Barack Obama. Romney has deep ties to Big Oil and raised more than $7 million from industry executives during a campaign fundraiser in Texas earlier this week. Read the full story here for more details of Romney’s plan.