Big Oil's Message - Please Join Us

John Felmy is Big Oil's Chief Economist. He can tell you everything you need to know about the history of our oil-based economy. But he didn't start out being their financial czar. He's a Pennsylvania boy who was born in Williamsport, went to high school in Jersey Shore and ended up going to Penn State University with just $20 in his pocket. His interest in oil and the Lehigh Valley began during summers spent working with a repair crew on the Tidewater Oil Pipeline, He learned something about both the economy and oil in those early years, and was in town recently to speak to the Lehigh Valley Tea Party. He spared some time for a bottom-feeding blogger, too. "I'll speak to anybody," he admitted.

One of the first things he pointed out is that the Tidewater Oil Pipeline, which extends from northwestern Pa. to Bayonne, N.J., was built to break J.D. Rockefeller's grip on the railroads. You see, King Cole and rail used to be the main mode of transportation.

These days, it's impossible to deny the impact the oil industry has on the economy. Nearly 10 million Americans are employed in the oil and gas industry, which accounts for nearly 8% of our gross domestic product. Moreover, Big Oil is actually owned mostly by you and me. Tens of millions of Americans have IRAs and pension funds that are heavily invested in oil and gas.

But haven't we peaked? Not so, states Felmy. He notes that, over the years, there has always been a fear that we will soon run out. In the 1870s, when oil was used primarily for kerosene, the first big scare occurred. This was repeated again in the 1900s, when the first cars began appearing on highways. It happened again in the 1970s, when the long lines at fuel pumps resulted from price controls on oil that had already been produced.

The likelihood of a real oil shortage anytime soon is remote. The reason for that is twofold - technology and markets.

"Technology has changed everything, especially in Pennsylvania," Felmy assures. He notes that we now have the ability to drill in deep water, more than two miles under surface. In addition, it is now economical to draw oil from the Canadian Oil Sands, which will result in 170 billion barrels. Finally, he points to advances in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling that have made Pennsylvania the third largest producer of natural gas in the country.

Markets are better now, too,he claims. The market now dictates price. "If you don't allow the markets to set the price, that's when you run out of stuff because the price is set too low," he explains. He derided the windfall profit tax, which was finally repealed during the Reagan years. as a terrible idea that "decreased production, increased imports and destroyed jobs."

As an economist, he supports the PennEast pipeline, a proposed 110-mile long pipeline from Pennsylvania to New Jersey, going through parts of Northampton County. "Policy has to be robust, redundant and reliable," he argues."If you don't have enough natural gas where you use it, you lose opportunity. This gives people and business the benefit of a lower price."

Noting that Pennsylvania has one of the highest corporate income taxes in the country, he opposes a severance tax. "Before you move down this road, tell us we're not paying our fair share already." But he supports an impact fee as "something you clearly need. Communities are clearly impacted and should share in the revenue."

Felmy stressed that the notion that the oil industry receives tax subsidies as "sheer nonsense." He noted that, like any other business, they can deduct the cost of production.

The immediate problem facing Big Oil, states Felmy, is a lack of education. "In Washington, facts don't matter," he notes. "It's talking points," which leads to misconceptions. But there's an even bigger, long range problem. A lack of labor.

"People are retiring and we need to get people in and trained," he explained. There are good-paying jobs for welders, gauge readers and those who have acquired technical skills that are taught in our community colleges. It is possible for a person in his early 20s to make $100,000 per year in these jobs. And this has a ripple effect. In North Dakota, for example, where the oil industry is well-established, he saw a local McDonald's offering a $200 signing bonus because it is strapped for labor as a result of so many people working in the oil industry.

"Please join us," he concluded.

Dent Fumes Over Keystone Pipeline Rejection

Headlines to Charlie Dent news releases are usually measured. Not this time. In headline that screams "President Puts Ideology Before Jobs and Country," Congressman Dent expresses his displeasure with President Obama's Keystone XL oil pipeline rejection. Here's what he says.

“With today’s decision to reject the development of the Keystone XL pipeline, which enjoys broad bipartisan support, President Obama has sadly placed ideology before country. The Keystone XL project is guaranteed to create thousands of quality American jobs and provide our nation with reliable energy resources needed to fuel our economic recovery. The President’s rejection of this slam dunk job creator is another disappointing reminder that he is more concerned with his reelection than helping Americans get back to work.

“While today’s decision may not be popular among most Americans, including members of the numerous labor unions who supported the project, I am confident the President’s rejection of Keystone XL was a major hit in China – a nation that will eagerly step forward in our absence to accept reliable supplies of energy from Canada.

“I am deeply disappointed by the President’s decision, which conflicts with recommendations put forward yesterday by his own Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. Sadly, this rejection comes as no surprise considering the President’s record of failing to adequately promote American energy security. I will continue to work in a bipartisan manner to ensure this critical project is not squandered.”

A Washington Post editorial also questions President Obama's judgment on this decision. "There are far fairer, far more rational ways to discourage oil use in America, the first of which is establishing higher gasoline taxes. Environmentalists should fight for policies that might actually do substantial good instead of tilting against Keystone XL, and President Obama should have the courage to say so."

What about Congressman Tim Holden? In October, he was one of 22 House Democrats to tell President Obama that "the proposed Keystone XL Pipeline represents a true shovel-ready project that would directly create 20,000 high quality domestic manufacturing and construction jobs for Americans who are desperately seeking employment. The project would also create an additional 118,000 spin-off jobs."

Big Oil Bogeyman is Back!

I'm having a tough time figuring out all the special interests who have LV Congressman Charlie Dent in their pocket. Whomever the latest public bogeyman, whether it's "Big Pharma" or "Wall Street" or "Big Insurance," Dent is their boy.

We're back to "Big Oil," one of my favorites, again. We all notice that prices at the pump have skyrocketed. Now you might think that has something to do with Goofy Gaddafi, who's starting his own fashion line after he clears out all those dead bodies in Libya. But don't be fooled by the "King of Kings of Africa.." The DCCC has it all figured out again, and is embarking on an ... ahem ... "grassroots" campaign funded by donations from their own special interests to attack dirty House Republicans like Charlie Dent for "forcing homeless veterans to sleep in the streets, taking teachers out the classrooms, scientists out of the labs, and underfunding police programs just so Big Oil companies can keep their taxpayer subsidies.”

I tried to reach Dent, but on Tuesday and Thursday nights, he drives a rig for Exxon.

MoveOn to Cry Over BP Oil Spill Outside Dent's Office

Did you know that LV Congressman Charlie Dent's grandfather spent 40 years delivering natural gas to people? MoveOn.org must have found out.

On Wednesday, at 4PM, they'll cry over BP's spilt oil outside of Congressman Charlie Dent's Bethlehem office. It's all his fault. They apparently also have secret evidence that he's cooking up a "Big Oil Bailout." They want him to order BP to pay for all damages without regard to any cap on liability, even though BP has already pledged to do just that.

MoveOn Regional Coordinator Steve Nathan and his minions will drive their SUVs and other gas hogs from around this area to claim Dent needs to support some Bill, but never bother to identify it. I guess it's the thought that counts.

MoveOn also reports that Dent gets all his campaign money from Big Oil, just a few months after saying it was Big Insurance.

No word on whether John Callahan is driving over to cry about spilt oil while simultaneously claiming he has no position of his own and people should stop asking him rhetorical questions.

Bennett Camp Slams Congressman Dent For Going to D.C.

Sam Bennett's campaign sent me a news release today that starts like this, "Congressman Charles Dent is scheduled to go to the House floor today to wrap up the Republican’s 5th week of Washington gimmicks, claiming to debate energy policy, according to his Express-Times. The reality: Dent is debating himself. The House isn’t in session and the floor is empty."

OK. I get it. Dent is being tagged for going to the nation's capitol to do his job instead of sticking around so we cab see who went to the Allentown Fair the most. That's fine, but what's up with that first sentence?

"[A]ccording to his Express-Times?"

So what the hell is the Bennett camp saying? Does Charlie Dent own The Express Times? Does the Express Times claim that Dent is in D.C. this week? I scoured the paper, and find nothing to corroborate Bennett's claim. The paper does, however, have some very well-written profiles of both Charlie Dent (by Jessica Coomes) and Sam Bennett (by Lynn Olanoff).

Campaign manager Kathryn Seck, who is actually on loan from D.C. herself, seems to know what Charlie is really doing - meeting with Evil Big Oil. “Empty chamber, empty rhetoric, all while working Pennsylvania families’ gas tanks are on empty. But Dent’s campaign coffers aren’t empty since he’s receives over $75,000 from Big Oil. Dent continues to take tens of thousands of dollars from Big Oil and give them billions in tax breaks. Dent has chosen to play tired old Washington games instead of agreeing to a real debate on energy policy here in the Lehigh Valley.”

According to the Bennett camp, Dent is slinking around at Big Lobbyist fundraisers, too.

Dent's camp declined to respond to this missive.

In an interview last month, Dent had this response to the Big Oil charge: "[S]he pulls her numbers wherever she pulls them from, but she is including local people. It's great to know that Siobhan Bennett believes that people who work in local energy companies are part of Big Oil. It's fascinating to know that she thinks what they do is dirty, that what they do is dishonorable. You know, she wrote in a recent op-ed that her grandfather was in the oil business. My late grandfather, who lived at 520 N 11th Street in Allentown, worked for over forty years of his life at UGI Company and Union Gas. He had an 8th grade education. He was proud of what he did. He would be sickened to know that people like my opponent think that what he did for a living was somehow dishonorable. He was proud that he was helping provide natural gas to help power people's businesses and homes. He thought that was honorable work and my opponent clearly thinks that people who work in the energy sector are dishonorable."

Is LV Congressman Charlie Dent a Tool of Big Oil?

Lehigh Valley Congressman Charlie Dent has used taxpayer dollars to send mass mailers to constituents. I've questioned the practice on this blog. The Bennett camp has joined in the fun, claiming that Dent should pay for these mailers out of the gazillions he gets from Big Oil.

When I interviewed Dent, the first thing I did was check to see if any Big Oil rigs were parked in the vicinity. I saw none, but Big Oil is very sneaky.

LVRamblings: Over the weekend, your constituents began receiving your six page "energy update." The Bennett camp has complained that it is funded by taxpayer money. “With the $75,000 Congressman Dent’s received from Big Oil, you’d sure think he could afford to pay for a mailing out of his campaign funds. Instead, he’s leaving Lehigh Valley taxpayers footing the bill.” How do you answer this accusation?

Congressman Dent: "The format of this newsletter is no different than any other newsletter I've ever sent out. It is approved by the Franking Commission. It is informational. I've noticed that [Republican] Chris Hackett, who is running against [Democratic] Representative Carney up in Northeastern Pennsylvania was attacked for the same thing. I'm waiting for Bennett's charge that Congressman Carney has done the same thing that I've done. There's a little hypocrisy there.

"I received very positive feedback from a number of people. Just yesterday, someone came up to me and said this was one of the best energy updates ..."

LVRamblings: Well, actually, it is very informative ...

Congressman Dent: "We do these periodically and this format is no different than any other piece we've sent out."

LVRamblings: Are you aware of any legislation that's pending right now to curtail the use of taxpayer money to send out informational pieces? Do you think it's a good idea or a bad idea, just as a general concept?

Congressman Dent: "Well, if I could have the media publish this information, that would be great. but they don't. A lot of my press releases are ignored, so this is one of the few ways left that I can communicate. By the way, we keep limitations on how much franked mail we send out. I have returned $200,000 in federal funds from my MRA. I run a frugal office. We don't spend a lot of money on a lot of frills. But we do feel that, from time to time, it is necessary to send out an informational mailer. On this energy issue, my office has received more comments on this and on the issue generally than anything else. They're calling all the time. People who did not write in may want to hear where their Congressman is on this issue."

LVRamblings: I could see in the questions that I received that people don't know what your stance is even though it's everywhere on your web page and campaign site . . .

Congressman Dent: "Yes, so we communicate every way we can. I do have to stay in touch with my constituents, but we limit what we spend on these types of initiatives.

"She throws out another charge about $75,000 in Big Oil. I believe she's including local individuals . . ."

LVramblings: Sometimes she says it's $100,000 . . .

Congressman Dent: "Well, she pulls her numbers wherever she pulls them from, but she is including local people. It's great to know that Siobhan Bennett believes that people who work in local energy companies are part of Big Oil. It's fascinating to know that she thinks what they do is dirty, that what they do is dishonorable. You know, she wrote in a recent op-ed that her grandfather was in the oil business. My late grandfather, who lived at 520 N 11th Street in Allentown, worked for over forty years of his life at UGI Company and Union Gas. He had an 8th grade education. He was proud of what he did. He would be sickened to know that people like my opponent think that what he did for a living was somehow dishonorable. He was proud that he was helping provide natural gas to help power people's businesses and homes. He thought that was honorable work and my opponent clearly thinks that people who work in the energy sector are dishonorable.

"And I should point out that Air Products and Chemicals, Do you know who their largest customer is?"

LVRamblings: Who's that?

Congressman Dent: "It is probably Exxon Mobil. Air Products builds hydrogen plants down by the refineries, to help refine the oil and gasoline."

LVRamblings: Apparently, the Bennett camp has a rather poor opinion of Air Products, but we'll get into that.

Congressman Dent: "Well, apparently, she does. You know, Air Products is an alternative energy company, by the way. I was out there yesterday. We finally dedicated a hydrogen fueling station that i worked with them on for some time along other local providers - The Discovery Center, Lehigh Valley Hospital and LANTA. We developed hydrogen shuttle buses as well as a fueling station and had hydrogen vehicles from all over the country drive right through here and they're on their way to California. Every major manufacturer was there."

If You Missed Musikfest, You Must Be a Big Oil Slave

I'm a miserable bastard. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that I hate Musikfest. If I want to be packed in hot weather amongst hordes of sweaty people, standing in unending lines, I'll go to a refugee camp. At least the food there is free. Last night, I learned that those of us who skipped out on Musikfest are servants of Big Oil, too.

Pam Varkony, who attended Musikfest and is in the clear, tells us that congressional candidate Sam Bennett also attended the festival. Some of you may have gone to get tipsy or hang around with the Bill White cutout or get tipsy or pig out or get tipsy or listen to music, which is still played there. But congressional candidate Sam Bennett, who incidentally lives at the Historic Benner Home, went because Musikfest is a "catalyst for the revitalization of the city of Bethlehem" and "an economic boost for local businesses" and stuff like that. Oh yeah, she's a "Lehigh Valley leader," too.

Bennett claims Congressman Charlie Dent has to stay home in case Big Oil calls him to drive one of its tanker trucks or something. "[I]f an event won’t help him raise money or gain more pats on the back from Big Oil, he’s not interested,” says Bennett campaign manager Kathryn Seck, who was imported here from D.C. and doesn't even know how to do the chicken dance.

There's just one problem with Bennett's accusation - it's false. He's been there twice this year, standing in lines just like everyone else. According to his campaign maven, Shawn Millan, Charlie always goes to Musikfest. Big Oil must give him a few days off.

Not me. I'm actually a servant of Little Oil. We have to work harder.