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Senate Close To Easing Gulf Drilling Restrictions

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Los Angeles Times

Published: August 2, 2008

WASHINGTON - In a possible breakthrough on energy, a bipartisan group of senators Friday unveiled a compromise that would preserve the oil drilling ban off the West Coast while easing restrictions on exploration off the East Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico.

Their proposal also would provide billions of dollars for an Apollo-like project to greatly expand the availability of vehicles powered by alternative fuels.

In unveiling the ambitious plan, 10 senators - five Democrats and five Republicans who call themselves the Gang of 10 - hope to break a partisan standoff that sent lawmakers home on their monthlong summer recess Friday without action on major legislation to address high gasoline prices.

However, the proposal's prospects appear a long shot for this year, with time running out on the congressional session. And in a politically charged election year, parties are stepping up attacks to highlight differences on issues such as energy policy.

Although a compromise, a number of the proposals remain controversial. Included are proposals to expand drilling in the Gulf to within 50 miles of Florida, help revive the nuclear industry and boost efforts to convert coal into motor vehicle fuel. Shortly after it was announced, the plan drew criticism from Florida's senators.

When Congress returns to Washington in September, "we hope that colleagues will have heard from their constituents that something has to be done, and done before Congress finishes its business this year," said Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., a leader of the Gang of 10.

The legislation is the first sign of bipartisan progress on an issue that has stirred political anxiety and animosity on Capitol Hill.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he was hopeful the compromise plan "can begin to break the current legislative stalemate on the Senate floor." The proposal would offer a concession to Republicans who have called for increased domestic production by allowing Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia to grant permits for drilling 50 miles off their shorelines and opening a new area in the Gulf of Mexico, 50 miles off Florida's coast, to energy exploration.

The senators excluded any effort to lift the long-standing ban on new drilling off the California coast or to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to energy exploration as too contentious and likely to complicate passage of a compromise bill.

In a shift, the group's Republicans agreed to repeal a key oil industry tax break.

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With gas prices hovering at $4 a gallon, a majority of Floridians now support drilling for oil in protected areas offshore, according to a new poll.

The survey finds support for drilling at 60 percent, with 10 percent of respondents telling pollsters that they'd opposed offshore drilling in the past. Thirty-six percent of respondents said they remain opposed to offshore drilling.

The poll of 1,248 likely Florida voters was conducted July 23-29 by Quinnipiac University and has a margin of error of 2.8 percentage points.

"Those who said Senator McCain was throwing away Florida's electoral votes by advocating more offshore drilling might want to think again," said Peter Brown, assistant director of the school's polling institute.

McClatchy-Tribune

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