Mar. 12-14: The National Ocean Industries Association will hold its 2008 annual meeting at the Ritz-Carlton, 1150 22nd Street NW. Scheduled speakers include Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee's Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee; Reps. John E. Peterson (R-Pa.) and Neil Abercrombie (D-Hi.), who regularly cosponsor bills to expand federal oil and gas leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf, and Sen. Mary L. Landrieu (D-La.), an Energy and Natural Resources Committee member who was instrumental in getting revenue sharing for state and local governments into the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (GOMESA). Interior Secretary Dirk A. Kempthorne will present the annual "Safety in Seas" award at the luncheon on Mar. 14.
Why it matters: The days are long past when hostile members of Congress stopped by to verbally spar with NOIA members during general sessions. Most of the real work still takes place in committee meetings and there will be plenty to discuss, particularly since this year's meeting comes soon after the Minerals Management Service's Outer Continental Shelf Policy Committee met in Herndon, Va. just outside the nation's capital. Costa's comments could be interesting since he also is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition of moderate House Democrats and seems more pragmatic than many other members of the Golden State's congressional delegation.
Contact Nick Snow at [email protected]