Re: House Subcommittee Rejects Plan to Open U.S. Waters to More Oil Exploration
- From: "Jerry Okamura" <okamuraj005@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 11 Jun 2008 13:27:02 -1000
I guess I simply do not understand how any one of them could on one hand complain about the cost of gasoline and our dependence on foriegn sources of oil and then turn right around and prevent the United States from exploiting the known oil we do have. I wish someone would explain that to me someday...
"Sordo" <sordo @ privacy.net > wrote in message news:6bap1oF3bi085U1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
House Subcommittee Rejects Plan to Open U.S. Waters to More Oil
Exploration
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
WASHINGTON -
A House subcommittee has rejected a Republican-led effort to open up
more U.S. coastal waters to oil exploration.
Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa., spearheaded the effort. His proposal would
open up U.S. waters between 50 and 200 miles off shore for drilling. The
first 50 miles off shore would be left alone.
But the plan failed Wednesday on a 9-6, party-line vote in a House
appropriations subcommittee, which was considering the proposal as part
of an Interior Department spending package.
With record oil prices and gas prices projected to hover around the $4
mark for the rest of the summer, Republicans have ratcheted up their
efforts to open up oil exploration along U.S. coastline. But the
long-sought change has so far been unsuccessful.
Most offshore oil production and exploration has been banned since a
federal law passed in 1981.
"We are kidding ourselves if we think we can drill our way out of these
problems," House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, D-Wis.,
said during the bill mark-up session.
For his part, Peterson said: "There is no valid reason for Congress to
keep the country from energy resources it needs."
According to Peterson's office, the U.S. Minerals Management Service
estimates that 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of
natural gas can be found along the U.S. outer continental shelf, the
area affected by the ban.
Peterson is not alone in his desire to open up the shelf. An effort to
unlock the resources has been underway in Congress in recent years, and
several interest groups are backing the effort, too.
"Tapping America's huge reserve of deep ocean energy helps us fight
terrorism and increases our domestic energy supply, which will help put
downward pressure on gasoline prices," Greg Schnacke, President of
Americans for American Energy, said in a news release, adding: "With
Americans suffering at the gas pump and with higher energy bills, it's a
no-brainer that the OCS should be developed."
But the proposal has faced staunch opposition from environmental groups
from states where the shorelines are under consideration for drilling,
like Florida.
Sierra Club lands program director Athan Manuel told a House committee
Wednesday that drilling has been unsuccessful in driving costs down.
"The disappointing part about some of the energy policies being promoted
(is) that it calls for more drilling when drilling really is the
problem. And all we've got to show for pretty aggressive (domestic)
drilling for the last 35 years is, again, $4 for a gallon of gas,"
Manuel said, adding "since the first Arab oil shock in the 1970s, the
U.S. has produced almost 90 billion barrels of oil since then, so we've
tried drilling our way out of the problem and it just hasn't worked."
Environment Florida spokeswoman Holly Binns told the Media General news
group that offshore drilling has no immediate impact on prices.
"It would take anywhere from seven to 10 years to bring those resources
to shore - to have any measurable impact on supply," Binns said,
advocating renewable energy sources.
Democrats are holding their own series of events on Capitol Hill
Wednesday to focus attention on global warming and energy independence,
but drilling is not on the agenda. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer,
D-Md., said Tuesday ongoing calls for more drilling "is the Johnny
One-Note of the Republican Party."
Not surprisingly, the issue has spilled into the ream of presidential
politics as well.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., criticized Democrats,
including fellow Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., over recent comments Obama
made regarding gas prices.
The comments that McConnell referred to were given during an interview
with CNBC. Discussing rising gasoline prices, Obama said: "I think that
I would have preferred a gradual adjustment. The fact that this is such
a shock to American pocketbooks is not a good thing.
Obama also said that "if we take some steps right now to help people
make the adjustment, first of all by putting more money into their
pockets, but also by encouraging the market to adapt to these new
circumstances more quickly, particularly U.S. automakers, then I think
ultimately, we can come out of this stronger and have a more efficient
energy policy than we do right now.
McConnell, honing in on Obama's referral to "gradual" price increases,
said Obama's remarks are evidence that Obama believes "rising gas prices
aren't the problem. The problem, he suggested, is that they've gone up
too fast. He said he would prefer a gradual adjustment."
He continued: "Whether it's shutting down domestic exploration in large
areas both onshore and offshore, instituting a moratorium on oil shale
development, increasing the gas tax, or refusing to pursue coal to
liquids, Democrats long ago implemented a 'gradual adjustment' on gas
prices that's reflected today in the $4.05 Americans are paying for a
gallon of gas."
.
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