As Offshore Drilling Debate Is Eclipsed by Economy, Lawmakers Look to Round Two...
Written By: Coral Davenport, CQ Staff... WASHINGTON, DC (NS/CQP) - Republicans declared victory after getting Democratic leaders to drop a ban on most new offshore drilling, but the political benefit has quickly faded and both sides are already looking to revisit the issue next year. Support for offshore oil and gas drilling remains high, but with public attention shifting to the economic crisis, the energy issue may lose some of its political punch, experts say. “There is more support for drilling than there has been for some time, and this is the best angle Republicans have for policy domestically,” said Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. Pew released a poll Wednesday that showed 67 percent of Americans now favor offshore drilling. “Whether it’s enough to stem the tide of Democratic advantage that seems to be growing out of the situation with the economy remains to be seen,” Kohut said. “It’s not that this is unimportant, but at this point, Wall Street is where the attention is.” The continuing resolution (HR 2638) to fund the government until next March, which the House passed Wednesday, did not include a moratorium on oil and gas drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. That ban has been renewed in spending bills since fiscal 1982, but Democratic leaders dropped their plan to include such restrictions in the latest stopgap funding measure. But the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service, which would lease and manage offshore energy production, says the process of completing environmental reviews, holding lease sales, conducting geologic studies and building new infrastructure could take five to 10 years before any new offshore drilling could actually begin. That gives lawmakers a window to work out a new deal for a ban. “The ban will expire, but nothing’s going to happen for a while,” said Rep. Henry A. Waxman , D-Calif., a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee and a leading environmentalist in his party. “We’re going to work with the next president to get it reinstated.” Meanwhile, policy experts and moderate Democrats said that once the moratoriums have been lifted, it’s unlikely that they could ever be reinstated wholesale — even under a Democratic Congress and president. “Not if oil prices stay they way they’ve been,” said House Natural Resources Chairman Nick J. Rahall II , D-W.Va. Rahall sponsored a bill (HR 6899), which the House passed last week, that would allow drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific shores but with more restrictions than what would be allowed by letting the ban lapse entirely. Rather than a wholesale reinstatement of the ban, experts say Congress is more likely to pass a bill that would package drilling with some new protections and boost conservation and renewable energy. The urgency of knowing the ban has been lifted — a situation that could allow drilling as close as three miles from shore — could help give momentum to such measures next year, especially with election year politics no longer a factor. “The lifting of the moratorium may compel Congress to reach a deal earlier next year on broader energy legislation,” said Paul Bledsoe, communications director for the National Commission on Energy Policy, a nonpartisan think tank that advises Congress on energy matters. As Offshore Drilling Debate Is Eclipsed by Economy, Lawmakers Look to Round Two In addition to the offshore drilling moratorium, a ban on developing oil shale deposits in the Rocky Mountains also will expire with enactment of the continuing resolution. Supporters say producing petroleum from the shale deposits could provide a domestic energy windfall, but environmentalists say developing the shale deposits would be more ecologically hazardous than other fossil fuels. “When Congress reconvenes in January, we will fight to restore an orderly process for oil shale development so that Colorado’s land, water and communities are protected,” Colorado Democratic Reps. John Salazar and Mark Udall and Sen. Ken Salazar said in a statement. Republicans vowed to fight to keep the land and water open for drilling. “You get the impression from listening to the majority that it is their intention to restore these moratoria later in this year,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell , R-Ky. “We don’t think the American people will like this.” --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are a member of the "News Sarasota" Google group... To read more, go to: http://www.newssarasota.com http://newssarasotaezine.talkspot.com To hear more, go to: http://thecaptainsamerica.podomatic.com Enjoy the priviledge you now share with others who want to know what others don't... Thanks, Matt Bruce Managing Editor News Sarasota.com Retired 25 Year Fire-Rescue Captain Host Of: "The Captain's AMERICA" Show Heard From 12 noon to 1 PM ET Monday Thru Friday LIVE On Net Talk World.com Across America & Around The Globe At The Speed Of The Internet... 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