TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Bush Pursues Offshore Oil Wells

ADVERTISEMENT

The Associated Press

Published: June 19, 2008

WASHINGTON - With gasoline topping $4 a gallon, President Bush urged Congress on Wednesday to lift its long-standing ban on offshore oil and gas drilling, saying the United States needs to increase its energy production. Democrats quickly rejected the idea.

"There is no excuse for delay," the president said in a statement in the Rose Garden. With the presidential election just months away, Bush made a pointed attack on Democrats, accusing them of obstructing his energy proposals and blaming them for high gasoline costs. His proposal echoed a call by Republican presidential candidate Arizona Sen. John McCain to open the Continental Shelf for exploration.

"Families across the country are looking to Washington for a response," Bush said.
Congressional Democrats were quick to reject the push for lifting the drilling moratorium, saying oil companies already have under lease 68 million acres on federal lands and waters - outside the ban area - that are not being developed. Drilling proponents say that number is misleading because sometimes it takes years for actual development to take place.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., called Bush's proposals "another page from an ... energy policy that was literally written by the oil industry - give away more public resources."

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, the Democrats' presumptive presidential nominee, rejected lifting the drilling moratorium that has been supported by a succession of presidents for nearly two decades.

"This is not something that's going to give consumers short-term relief and it is not a long-term solution to our problems with fossil fuels generally and oil in particular," Obama said.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, lumped Bush and McCain, accused them of staging a "cynical campaign ploy" that won't help lower energy prices.

There are two prohibitions on offshore drilling, one imposed by Congress and another by executive order signed by Bush's father in 1990. Bush's brother, Jeb, fiercely opposed offshore drilling when he was governor of Florida. What the president now proposes would rescind his father's decision - but the president took the position that Congress has to act first and then he would follow behind.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he opposes lifting a ban on new oil drilling in coastal waters, saying the federal offshore drilling ban was not to blame for soaring gas prices. A federal moratorium has been in place for 27 years. "The direction our nation needs to go in, and where California is already headed, is toward greater innovation in new technologies and new fuel choices for consumers," Schwarzenegger said.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT