Macon Telegraph Political Notebook: MARSHALL TACKLES ENERGY IN THE POST
September 6, 2008

U.S. Rep. Jim Marshall, D-Ga., co-authored a piece on energy published Friday in The Washington Post.

That's something of an honor in Washington, even for a sitting congressman.

The whole thing can be read at The Post's Web site, www.washingtonpost.com . But these are the first three paragraphs of the piece, which U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., co-signed with Marshall:

"The controversial bans on drilling offshore and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge have preserved precious oil and natural gas reserves owned by the public. Thank environmentalists for this unintended gift.

"But for these bans, we would have wasted the reserves without a strategic plan. Leasing and drilling would have lowered world oil prices by a few cents, benefiting more foreign consumers than Americans. The federal revenue from royalties, lease payments and taxes would have been used to meet current federal expenditures. And our remaining publicly owned oil and natural gas would be substantially depleted. Consequently, our dependence on foreign energy sources would be even greater than it is - and it is likely that the current commodity price crisis would be worse.

"We hope this price crisis prompts the adoption of a strategic plan to use the remaining value of our federally owned oil and natural gas reserves to fund a clean, affordable and independent energy future for America, a goal worthy of short-term environmental concessions and risks. Virtually all general drilling bans should be lifted. We should permit drilling offshore and in the ANWR and require that it be done with appropriate care."

BY THE WAY...

Marshall was the first to go on television this week in the 8th District race.

In one commercial, he breaks down his stand on energy independence and drilling for oil - basically shrinking his piece in The Post into a bite-sized piece.

He's also got a get-to-know-you ad running in Middle Georgia, focusing largely on his military service in Vietnam and his extensive fact-finding missions to the Middle East.

"He's a widely respected leader on military matters," the voice-over guy says.

You can also catch the commercial on YouTube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJTsAKzi-30.