Maureen Lorenzetti
OGJ Online
WASHINGTON, DC, July 12 -- The US Senate voted 67-33 Thursday to hold controversial Lease Sale 181 scheduled for this December in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
Sens. Bob Graham and Bill Nelson of Florida sought to postpone the sale, as the House did last month as part of an appropriations bill.
But moderate Democrats and Republicans from oil-producing states, led by Sen. John Breaux (D-La.), successfully convinced colleagues the sale would pose little if any environmental threat to Florida's beaches and production from the area is needed to boost US energy supplies.
"If you aren't going to drill in the Gulf of Mexico, where are you going to drill?" Breaux asked.
In an interview shortly after the vote, Breaux predicted that the final version of the bill -- a compromise between the House and Senate versions -- that will be sent to the president would include provisions that allow the sale to move forward. But it is unclear how much of the sale will be allowed to proceed.
Prior to the Senate vote, the Interior Department decided to withdraw about 75% of the available leases in deference to concerns by Florida officials, including the president's brother Gov. Jeb Bush (R).
"That was a serious mistake," Breaux said.
A spokesman for the National Ocean Industries Association, which represents offshore interests, said, "We are pleased and encouraged by the vote."
In a written statement, Interior Secretary Gale Norton said the Senate vote "reinforces the bipartisan consensus we reached on the issue of exploring for new energy supplies off the coast of Alabama.
"This is a victory for all Americans who want to see environmentally responsible energy production and stable energy prices at the gas pump and in their home heating bills," she said.
She added, "The compromise was worked out between by department and the governors of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. All of the governors support it -- and with strong bipartisan support from the congressional delegations of those states."
Breaux, however, suggested the Senate would have voted the same way regardless of Interior's action.
"It didn't make a difference," he said.
The Senate was working on the Interior Appropriations bill, HR 2217, a spending bill that funds many oil-related and public land programs administered by the Departments of Interior and Energy.
The House version of the bill would postpone the lease sale until next April, effectively delaying it longer because it would be included in the next 5-year lease sale plan.
The House also voted to block any oil drilling in national monuments and in the Great Lakes.
The Senate version so far also blocks new drilling in national monument areas (OGJ Online, July 12, 2001). Several other pending amendments may be considered, including a proposal by Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-Alas.) that would ban oil companies from buying Iraqi crude.
Contact Maureen Lorenzetti at [email protected]
