'Your World': Jefferson Parish Council President on Obama's New Drill Ban Plan

This is a rush transcript from "Your World With Neil Cavuto," July 9, 2010. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

STUART VARNEY, GUEST HOST: After suffering a second court loss to keep its drilling ban in place, the Obama administration still pushing ahead. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar telling reporters an announcement is coming soon on a new drilling moratorium, this as Diamond Offshore Drilling says it's moving the rig out of the Gulf because of these restrictions.

My next guest is worried that more will follow.

Jefferson Parish Council President John Young joining me now.

John, I have got to put it to you. They have got you. They are going to stop drilling on those 33 platforms now and in the near future. They have got you. You have lost.

JOHN YOUNG, CHAIRMAN, JEFFERSON PARISH COUNCIL: Yes. I mean, we won a Pyrrhic victory yesterday in court, Stuart, but you hit the nail on the head. With the federal government continuing to press on this moratorium, that it is bad for Louisiana, it's bad for the United States. They are destroying our economy. And they are going to really impact negatively the United States' economy.

And it's not just a six-month moratorium. These drilling companies are going to leave for years. It may be five years. And it's totally devastating to our economy here in Louisiana.

VARNEY: Your point is that, once they move one of these huge rigs, it takes weeks or months to get into a different position off the West Coast of Africa or Brazil, and months and months, probably years, to get it back to the Gulf, if they ever opened up drilling again.

YOUNG: Absolutely. And it is going to make us more dependent on foreign oil, which is not where we want to go.

VARNEY: Right.

And this is going to dwarf, in terms of economics and economic impact negatively, what the actual leak has done to this economy. So, this is ill-conceived, ill-advised and bad policy.

(CROSSTALK)

VARNEY: The people in your parish, who are they mad at, BP for the spill in the first place, or the government for the moratorium?

YOUNG: I think they are equally mad at both BP and the federal government. And the federal government has also blocked us every step of the way in trying to protect wetlands and estuaries by denying our permits to try to protect ourselves at least three times, without even providing us with an alternative.

So, the federal government has not only not helped us. It has actually hurt us and not provided us with the means of protecting ourselves or allowing us to protect ourselves.

VARNEY: We hear a lot that these are very well-paid jobs and they are leaving. Can you give me an example of how much would you make if you got a relatively unskilled job on an oil rig? Just how much?

YOUNG: That's a great question, Stuart, because you can get an unskilled job on a rig with a high school education and make $60,000 to $65,000 a year.

And on those large rigs, you have about 250 people employed. Then you have the boats that service the rigs, the offshore supply companies. The ripple effect is tremendous. And this is going to be totally devastating to the company of Louisiana. And, again, I say it is going to be bad for the United States in general.

VARNEY: Sir, I just want your final judgment.

(CROSSTALK)

VARNEY: Those good jobs that you just outlined, they are going and they are going completely, they're not coming back. Is that your judgment John?

(CROSSTALK)

YOUNG: Yes, they are not coming back for at least five years. That's the problem.

VARNEY: OK.

John Young, Jefferson Parish Council chairman, we thank you very much for joining us, sir. Appreciate you being here.

YOUNG: Thank you, Stuart.

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