Perhaps it was because of the proposed multi-billion dollar Wall Street bailout that the expiration of US Outer Continental Shelf leasing moratoriums on Sept. 30 went largely unnoticed. But it's likelier that nearly everyone involved recognizes the fight isn't over.
"Lifting the decades-old ban . . . is good news for the millions of American consumers who are calling for the ban to be lifted, but it is only the first step. Congress should avoid re-imposing this ban or any other obstacles to US oil and natural gas resources," the American Petroleum Institute said in a statement on Sept. 29.
"Sadly, many elected officials who get that drilling won't lower prices at the pump or put a dent in our country's oil dependence nevertheless were unable to stop Big Oil and its friends in Congress," said Natural Resources Defense Council official Rob Perks that same day.
"And in this election year, President Bush's threatened veto of a federal spending bill authorizing renewal of the drilling ban made the risk of a government shutdown too great for the Democrats to ignore," he continued in a posting at the environmental organization's website.
Opposition remains
Oil and gas association leaders generally agreed that congressional OCS leasing opponents toned down their rhetoric but are still firmly against actually opening new US offshore areas.
They pointed to the bill which the House passed on Sept. 16. It started by banning leases up to 50 miles offshore. From 50 to 100 miles out, a coastal state could have authorized federal leasing (if neighboring states didn't object). But it would not have been eligible for a share of federal revenues.
Association executives said that such provisions made the bill dubious and questionable. House Republicans called it a sham.
Some still considered the OCS moratoriums' expiration a milestone. "Not only is Congress tackling the problem of rising energy prices head on by encouraging domestic energy development, we are doing so by working together across party lines," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said after the continuing resolution passed by 78 to 12 votes.
Refused to discuss it
Others were less upbeat. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) said that a continuing resolution became necessary when Democrats on both sides of the Capitol refused to allow OCS leasing amendments.
"What has been the result? Before us, we now have an appropriations bill that does exactly what the majority hoped to avoid . . . In the process of getting to that result, however, members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees have been denied the opportunity to debate and offer amendments to the other appropriations bills," he continued.
"Expanded OCS drilling is bad energy policy, bad environmental policy, and it will do nothing to lower the prices at the pump, now or ever. This country deserves a serious debate about energy and not just election year posturing," observed Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ).
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) sent a clear signal on Sept. 25 when he told reporters: "We'll revisit this issue next spring."
Contact Nick Snow at [email protected]
