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Congressman Seeks Drilling Off Coast

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By BILLY HOUSE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 10, 2008

WASHINGTON - As gas prices set another record by going above $4.02 a gallon on Monday, a Pennsylvania congressman planned to ask a House subcommittee this week to allow oil drilling off the Florida Gulf Coast.

"My boss has been proposing this for six years," noted Patrick Creighton, a spokesman for GOP Rep. John Peterson.

Now, he said, Peterson thinks rising American anxiousness over fuel prices will prompt enough support on the panel for his plan to lift the 26-year-old moratoriums on drilling off the East and West Coast and the Gulf Coast.

Specifically, Peterson on Wednesday will ask the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Issues to amend a spending bill to lift the prohibition on oil exploration in areas between 50 and 200 miles off the coasts.

The proposal would keep the first 50 miles off the coast under a moratorium, which Creighton says is far enough to keep any oil rigs from being sighted from Florida beaches.

If approved, the amendment would go to the House Appropriations Committee.

The idea is not seen as having wide support in the Senate and is opposed by the White House.

But Peterson's actions could put Democrats who control the House in the position of having either to support his measure or strip it from the spending bill. Many lawmakers from outside coastal areas have supported it in the past.

There are an estimated 86 billion barrels of oil under the Outer Continental Shelf, the undersea plain between a continent and deep ocean.

By some estimates, there could be 3.88 billion barrels of oil within 125 miles of Florida's Gulf coastline.

Most Florida elected officials and groups have opposed such a move, pointing to environmental concerns.

For instance, Rep. Kathy Castor, a Tampa Democrat, blocked other legislation by Peterson in committee earlier this year to allow drilling closer to Florida's coast. She also has proposed her own bill to permanently ban offshore drilling along Florida's coast.

Other opponents say the answer to higher energy prices is not more oil drilling.

Congress should be working on real solutions for America's energy needs, such as improving efficiency standards for automobiles and developing clean, renewable energy, rather than helping the oil industry to increase their profits, said Holly Binns of Environment Florida, a statewide environmental advocacy group.

"It would take anywhere from seven to 10 years to bring those resources to shore - to have any measurable impact on supply," she said of offshore oil drilling.

Others say it's worth a try.

"It's not going to bring down gasoline prices tomorrow, even if enacted," agrees Peter Sepp, vice president of the National Taxpayers Union, a conservative fiscal watchdog group based in Alexandria, Va.

"But at least it offers markets the hopes of increased supply that would eventually moderate prices," Sepp said.

Reporter Billy House can be reached at (202) 662-7673 or bhouse@tampatrib.com.

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