I welcome the Presidents decision to follow through on the previous Administrations plans to expand areas previously off limits to domestic offshore production; however the devil is in the details. Now is not the time for lip service. Nibbling around the edges will not increase our energy security. We should not ignore promising areas off the Gulf of Mexico especially with the cost of gas increasing and job creation non-existent. For the sake of our security and our economy now is the time to give the American people access to domestic energy."
-- U.S. Sen. John Cornyn following President Obamas announcement to expand U.S. offshore oil & gas drilling
