Congress to let offshore drilling ban expire
September 24, 2008
From Reuters today, 9/24/08
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The offshore drilling ban that became a flash point in the U.S. presidential election will expire next week after Democrats decided to drop the prohibition from a temporary spending bill that keeps the government running.
The end of the ban will not lead to a rush of new drilling any time soon, but it would be a big win for Republican Presidential nominee John McCain who has made opening most U.S. offshore areas to drilling a key part of his campaign. His Democratic rival, Barack Obama, supports limited offshore drilling as part of a bigger overhaul of U.S. energy policy.
The mammoth spending bill to keep the U.S. government operating through next March includes a $25 billion loan guarantee package for the auto industry but makes no mention of offshore oil drilling, pushing the politically hot topic to the next president and new Congress.
“The next election will decide what our drilling policy is going to be,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Rep. David Obey.
Obey said the drilling ban will expire because Democrats could not reach an agreement with Republicans on how much offshore areas should be opened to energy exploration.
Read the rest of the story here.
The truth is, Democrats are feeling the heat from us and our opposition to high gas prices, especially when the solutions is close at hand and just offshore! Keep the pressure on and go to our Take Action page… and take action!
Comments
Got something to say?
