By OGJ editors
WASHINGTON, DC, Oct. 16 -- The US House Wednesday sent a strong signal to the White House and congressional leaders when it voted 229-182 to oppose a pending energy bill proposal to conduct an inventory of oil and gas resources on the Outer Continental Shelf, including areas now off-limits from drilling because of administrative and congressional moratoriums.
Sponsored by Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.), the House language instructs conferees on the Energy Policy Act (HR 6) to oppose the inventory provision, which the House has never accepted but was included in the latest discussion draft. An inventory plan was included in the earlier Republican Senate energy proposal S. 14.
But in the House, opposition to offshore drilling is very strong, even among typically proindustry members.
House Resources Committee Chairman Richard W. Pombo (R-Calif.), for example, said his vote against drilling "renewed his pledge to oppose an (OCS) inventory in the energy conference." But Pombo insisted his offshore drilling views were not inconsistent with promoting domestic energy production and renewed his call for opening a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
"Earlier this year on the floor of the House, I made a commitment to oppose the inclusion of an OCS inventory in the energy conference," Pombo said. "I will stand by that commitment today and support the motion offered by Rep. Capps to instruct conferees to exclude the inventory provision.
"This Congress and the American people face increasingly difficult decisions with regard to domestic energy production," Pombo continued. "As lawmakers, we do not have the luxury of opposing all oil and gas production, nor would we be fulfilling our responsibilities to the American people if we maintained the status quo. We must have a balanced, comprehensive energy plan in America, and that requires increasing domestic supplies to meet demand. That is why I firmly believe we must choose to open ANWR for energy exploration and production.
"And while many citizens in the Lower 48 states do not want energy production in their backyards, the Inupiat Eskimo people, the only inhabitants of ANWR's coastal plain, do," Pombo stressed. "In fact, 75% of all Alaskans support safe oil and gas productions in ANWR."
