WASHINGTON
With a blast at Democratic and Republican leaders alike, a bipartisan group of lawmakers - including Rep. Thelma Drake, R-Norfolk - unveiled a plan Wednesday to open offshore areas to oil and gas production.
The coalition's proposed National Conservation, Environment and Energy Independence Act would keep drilling rigs at least 25 miles offshore and give each state an option to extend the no-drilling zone out to 50 miles. It also would preserve a ban on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Supporters said the plan grew out of a month of discussions spearheaded by Reps. Neil Abercrombie, a Hawaii Democrat, and John Peterson, a Pennsylvania Republican. The two have teamed up for several years on legislation designed to increase domestic oil and gas production.
"No lobbyist, no leadership, no staff from either side" was involved in the drafting, Peterson said.
Instead, rank-and-file members cut deals such as the optional 50-mile buffer - a Drake proposal - and continued protection of the arctic refuge in a bid to craft a bill that can garner broad support, Abercrombie told reporters.
Drake said the bill includes a new set of boundaries marking each state's share of offshore areas to be leased for drilling. The boundaries are critical because each state would get a portion of the proceeds of lease sales in its area; existing boundaries are unfair to Virginia, Drake contends.
Lawmakers involved in the deal said they hope voter anger at $4-per-gallon gasoline prices and the threat of even steeper jumps in home heating costs next winter will translate into pressure on congressional leaders to embrace the plan.
But Democratic and GOP Congressional leaders and the Bush administration have shown little inclination to compromise. Democrats are pushing for more alternative energy development and curbs on market speculation they argue is driving up prices; Republicans want more drilling.
Drake's support for drilling appears likely to be a major issue in her re-election contest with Democrat Glenn Nye.
Rick Fromberg, Nye's campaign manager, released a statement arguing that Drake "talked a good Washington game about being bipartisan," but hours after unveiling the bill, she opposed a bipartisan effort on the House floor "to curb irresponsible speculation and lower the cost of gas by a dollar or more."
While offshore drilling is the centerpiece of the bipartisan plan announced Wednesday, the bill also would permit the sale of wood products from federal land for the production of fuel pellets. A federal limit on the number of new hybrid cars that can qualify for a special tax credit also would be lifted.
Supporters said the legislation would bring $2.6 trillion into the federal treasury through taxes and royalties on offshore leases. Coastal states would get 30 percent of that - $780 billion - but another $940 billion would go to a variety of conservation, environmental restoration, and carbon sequestration efforts plus energy assistance for low-income people.
Wednesday's congressional wrangling came as the Bush administration announced it will begin work on a new five-year plan for drilling along the entire Outer Continental Shelf. The current plan, which expires in 2012, is confined mostly to the Gulf of Mexico.
Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said a new plan could be in place by 2010 if Congress lifts the 25-year-old moratorium on other drilling.
Dale Eisman, (703) 913-9872, dale.eisman@pilotonline.com
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exxon quartely profits
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Exxon Mobil once again reported the largest quarterly profit in U.S. history Thursday, July 31, 2008, posting net income of $11.68 billion on revenue of $138 billion in the second quarter.
Does anyone buy Exxon gas????? I sure hope not!
Calling in my sheep
Doesn't it bother any of you that this was a non-issue for most everyone until it was made a politcal hot potato after being reported as a "valid" idea in the press? The issue was touted by very few people due to the absurdity of it. First, the oil companies have large areas where drilling is allowed and choose not to do so. Secondly, this will not affect the price of domestic oil. Third, it is more of the same. It will not make us independent. Are some of you so simple to believe in baseless rational just because it is a political tool to reel in the undereducated and uninformed? Baaaaa.
we are the wrong location
We are the wrong location to even think about drilling.
Republican Scam!
This is just another Republican Scam. In 2004 they used the 3-G's God, Guns and Gays as wedge issues to convince the gullible that Republicans should be allowed to continue their reign of errors.
Now they are just trying to gain an advantage with those same gullible voters by adding "Gas" to that list. If Americans are so nutty as to believe that we can drill our way out of the mess that has occurred on Bush & Cheney's watch then we will continue to get what we deserve... bad leadership. Furthermore, we will keep watching the world pass us by while we argue about who to blame for high gas prices, the lousy housing market, unemployment and recession. There's no doubt in my mind who I am going to hold accountable when I go to the polls this November... sorry McSame!
How
you ask: "How can drilling “endanger…the bases in H.R.”? There is NOWHERE else on the East Coast where ALL OF the ships can relocate. There are NO AIR FIELDS that WANT THE JETS to threaten Oceana with losing aircraft." The same way encroachment on Oceana almost cost Virginia Beach Oceana. At any rate, even if you dismiss the naval argument, how exactly will it help to drill off the coast when companies are not spending the money on exploration and production, it will take at least ten years to have a producing well, and refineries are at capacity? I noticed those arguments have not been addressed. "Drill here, drill now" is merely an empty slogan, much like "no car tax".
am81430, where will the Navy go?
How can drilling “endanger…the bases in H.R.”? There is NOWHERE else on the East Coast where ALL OF the ships can relocate. There are NO AIR FIELDS that WANT THE JETS to threaten Oceana with losing aircraft.
As a former SWO, IMHO, having oil rigs between 25 – 50 miles offshore will NOT impede the operations that the Navy needs to conduct in ANY MANNER. To say they will is simply NOT TRUE. They want as large a portion of the ocean as they can get in order to not have to maneuver when out there doing their training. I've sailed as a merchant mariner in the Guld of Mexico, and the rigs there are well marked on the charts, well lit, and they will NOT jump out there to get in your way. On a ship, maneuvering is a fact of maritime life.
Get over it.
Drill. Now.
Its hasn't been about supply & demand for a while
The problem isn't oil; the problem is predatory refinery market consolidation and collusion. The top 5 refineries now control 1/2 of American oil and they're all buddies of the President. This isn't a fair and open marketplace. Where do you think the profits are going?
Same problem with the top 3 agribusinesses in American controlling 90% of U.S. corn. Monopolies are great for making sure that cronies all make a financial killing at the expense of the market place.
Lornes, you are being intellectually dishonest
Your mere "7.6%" profit margin is resulting in history being made quarter after quarter with profits such as Exxon's $11.76B, that's billion, with a b, profit for the quarter. And do you realize how much these companies recieve in tax breaks? So don't cry about low profit margins when these companies are continually making corporate history with record breaking profits, quarter after quarter, year after year --it's pathetic.
Who's getting rich???
The politicans, that's who
Maybe we could take Drake seriously if she would return
the $23,000 from the Oil and Gas PAC's (doesn't include individual donors) she has received for this current election cycle, as reported to the FEC through June 30, 2008.
The left
The foil hat crowd has got those bonnets pulled down extra hard today.
What?????
401(k)s are NOT the majority stockholders in most companies, including energy companies. The largest stockholders in most companies are institutional investors, which typically comprise 65% of most companies' shareholders. If you had as much power as you seem to think you do, you would be notified every single time there is a shareholder's meeting for all the companies your money is invested in for your 401(k). In comparison to how much the major stockholders invest (millions), your $5 toward their stock (if you contribute maybe 6% of your annual income toward your 401(k) and then split that amongst several different funds, and of that a fraction of that goes to one company) is nothing.
And who do you think OWNS
And who do you think OWNS these super rich companies? It's people like you and me with 401k's.
earn isn't the word
Mega fortune and our taxdollas on to top of it is what we are talking about.
Didnt say they didnt earn
Didnt say they didnt earn alot. What's wrong with that? 7.6% is not a very good profit margin. I am very specific about what I say.
Oil Exporting from USA
We export 10 percent to 15 percent of our oil from this country.
Just don't do it and we don't need to drill. Big Oil and Drake make good company. If we drill off the coast, Big Oil can even export more !!!!
Lores
Are you serious? Have you read any earnings reports for any oil company in the last three years? As for the assertin by NOJOnes that the USN navigating '100 foot seas and oil rigs' for years, it's comforting to know that you know more than the admirals...and by the way, nuclear power is not that profitable.
sorry,
should be 2001
since 2110
We have been dealing with an idot at the helm.
For Whatever Reason
We've already burned up seven years out of ten since the 2001 terror attacks, and still no replacement tower. Ten years is nothing for the able, while adversarys to strength want the kool-aid drinkers to believe ten years is like forever. The Navy navigates atop 100 foot high sea waves and around oil rigs the world over. End the forty years of environmentalist demanded nuclear and fossil bureaucracies and let's get new refinery capacity and the rest fast-tracked to those who are intelligent and experienced in these areas. The "King of the Hill 500 Mill" is thirsty.