Posted on behalf of Amber Dance:
President Bush is getting antsy to sink oil wells into America’s waters.
He patiently waited — it’s nearly a month since he asked (New York Times) — for Congress to join him in lifting the moratorium on offshore oil drilling. But, complained White House spokeswoman Dana Perino today, “They have not even held a hearing on the issue.” So Bush announced he would wait no longer, and lifted the presidential ban his father put in place 19 18 years ago.
As Congress has its own ban, Bush’s move will have no consequences on its own. But he hopes the announcement will goad legislators into action.
“We will send an immediate message to the global markets that America is serious about becoming less dependent on foreign oil,” said US Senator Pete Domenici (Republican, New Mexico) in a statement. The message is about the only thing that will be immediate — even if the Congressional ban were lifted tomorrow, the oil won’t reach consumer’s gas tanks for at least ten years.
Bush says the drilling could ultimately yield 18 billion barrels of oil (Associated Press). Sounds like a lot, until you consider that the country uses 20 million barrels a day. At that rate, those 18 billion barrels would keep us going an additional 2 ½ years.
California Senator Barbara Boxer (Democrat) says the move is “a gift to oil companies,” and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Democrat, California) calls it a “hoax” that won’t reduce gas prices or dependence on foreign oil (Sacramento Bee). Many Democrats suggest the country tap its 706 million barrels in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve instead. In an op-ed, Delaware Senator Joe Biden (Democrat) points out that oil companies already lease 68 million offshore acres, worth 54 billion barrels, and they’re not even drilling in all those places. Currently, drilling is allowed off the shores of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and parts of Alaska.
Congress’ drilling prohibition has a bipartisan history going back to 1981. Other Bushes have also been on board: George H. W. Bush signed the executive version in the aftermath of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill off Alaska’s coast, and former Florida governor Jeb Bush fought to protect his state’s coastline when Congress opened up 8 million acres for drilling in 2006 (Washington Post). But as gas prices empty wallets across the country, some Republicans, John McCain among them, are changing their minds. McCain wants to open the coasts to drilling, while Barack Obama opposes it.
Bush says, “Now the ball is squarely in Congress’ court.” Whether they take the shot, or simply pass it around, remains to be seen.
Image: Punchstock