On February 10th, President Obama announced hismost recent $787 billion dollareconomic stimulus package. Congress willingly went along with this proposed solution and WallStreet and the American consumer responded. Since the plan's inception, the Dow Jones Industrial Averagehas dropped almost 20%.

We learned today that Congress is contemplating another "more restrained" economic stimuluspackage – this time they proposed to spend an additional $500 billion in theirattempts to revive our weak economy. I'm no economist but I don't think these stimulus plans are working.

And today's economic news continues to be grim: according to The Wall Street Journal, "economists surveyed this month predict thatthe economy will shed another 2.8 million jobs over the next 12 months as theunemployment rate climbs to 9.3% by December." Before he was sworn in, President Obama and his neweconomic team enjoyed positive approval ratings by three-quarters of those sameeconomists. Today, Secretary ofthe Treasury Geithner's approval ratings are lower than outgoing Bush SecretaryPaulson's score.

I'm no economist but I've got a pretty good memory and I'vegot a suggestion for the Obama Administration that won't cost taxpayers a dime. And it will definitely create some goodpaying non-governmental jobs in some of the states hardest hit by this on-goingrecession.

Last year wewere paying nearly $4 for a gallon of gasoline. Polling data showed that nearly 70% of Americans said thatit was time for Washington to develop a more permanent solution to ourescalating energy costs. Furthermore,that same survey research showed that Americans want an energy supply that wassafe and one that was focused on increasing efficiency and sound environmentalprinciples. And late last year, a uniqueopportunity came about that Congress and the new Administration seem to haveforgotten about.

On September 30, 2008 a nearly 30-year moratorium on oil andnatural gas exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) expired. Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolinaintroduced legislation (the "Drill Now Act") in the U.S. Senate that would haveallowed us to safely and securely access a domestic supply of oil and naturalgas exploration with very little environmental impact.

The significant impact of this oil and natural gasexploration would be the direct benefits to our state and family budgets. Experts believe that we can safely gainaccess to the approximately 18 billion barrels of oil and 78.5 trillion cubicfeet of natural gas that is estimated to be buried in the Outer ContinentalShelf. This would truly help secureAmerica's energy independence. Inaddition, billions of dollars in lease and royalty payments would flow into thefederal and state treasuries from leases on these lands. We need to look no further than NorthDakota, a land rich in oil reserves and a budget surplus, to see the fantasticbenefits these natural resources can bring to state coffers.

Furthermore, exploring in the OCS would quickly create somevery good paying jobs. It isinteresting to note that America's oil industry pays wages nearly twice thenational average – a true economic stimulus to those families located incoastal states. In 2006, oil andnatural gas exploration and production directly employed 386,000 workersnationwide. A recent study foundthat nearly 160,000 jobs would be created in the next 20 years if we alloweddevelopment of previously off-limits offshore waters.

Most Americans would agree that we need a sound and safenational energy policy. In thistime of a deepening economic recession, it makes a lot of sense for Congress tofocus on true job and wealth creation. It's time to "drill here, drill now".