Published: Thursday, September 08, 2011, 9:49 AMBy George Altman, Washington BureauWASHINGTON — The Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce met with like-minded officials in the nation’s capital on Wednesday, but they heard little good news.From predictions of more slow economic growth to discussions of federal budget woes and "onerous" regulations, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce warned its Mobile counterpart of a gloomy climate for business interests.Fittingly, the skies over Washington were rainy and gray.Karen Harbert, president and chief executive officer of the U.S. chamber affiliate Institute for 21st Century Energy, told the Mobile group that more domestic energy production is vital to the economy’s recovery. But the Obama administration is slowing the process, instead of speeding it up, with increased safety regulations, she said."We have, you know, a project in another part of the chamber that looks at the number of energy projects that have been stalled over the last three years because of our completely onerous, burdensome, Byzantine regulatory environment that has stopped ... billions of dollars worth of investment," Harbert said.Read more here.