WASHINGTON
Even as House Democratic leaders handed Republicans a symbolic victory this week in their long fight for new offshore oil development, critics charged that the fine print in the plan probably will continue to keep drillers out of the Atlantic.
While lifting a 25-year federal ban on most offshore oil and natural gas drilling, the legislation would block Virginia and other coastal states from sharing in a $2.6 trillion bonanza of tax revenue expected to flow from offshore fields. A Senate bill still in the works would give states part of the money.
Unless states stand to profit from offshore development, they almost surely would exercise their right under the bill to block any drilling within 100 miles of their shores, critics of the House initiative charged.
"With no financial incentive, no state will choose to 'opt in,' " House Republican leader John A. Boehner of Ohio told reporters, "and this bill will result in little or no new American energy production."
Rep. Thelma Drake, a Norfolk Republican who has taken a prominent role among pro-drilling forces, was even more critical.
The new bill "appears to be little more than a political ploy," Drake charged in a prepared statement. Democrats intend to "tell the American people that they voted to go after more American energy while winking to the environmentalists to say that this increased production will never happen," she said.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters that sharing royalties with the states would force Congress to overhaul the entire budget, an impossible task just three weeks before the beginning of a new fiscal year.
Pay-as-you-go rules adopted by lawmakers require them to offset any surrender of federal revenue with cuts in spending, she said.
Republicans scoffed at the explanation, noting that Democrats have not invoked "pay-go" in signing off a multi billion-dollar bailout of mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
The tax revenues in the Democratic plan actually would be royalties paid by oil companies as part of their leasing of offshore areas. If the take was shared with coastal states, Virginia could realize $200 million annually, state Sen. Frank Wagner, a Virginia Beach Republican, has estimated.
Wagner, the state's most vocal advocate for drilling, said Thursday that offshore oil would be a boon to Virginia even if the state is cut out of the royalties. Building the infrastructure ashore needed to support drilling at sea would create thousands of new jobs for Virginians and add valuable properties to local tax rolls, Wagner said.
"I'd like to see anything pass," he added. But the House bill's omission of state royalties is "a poison pill," designed to block offshore development while seeming to permit it, Wagner said.
The federal government already allows states bordering the Gulf of Mexico to keep slightly more than one-third of the royalties paid for oil fields there.
Those payments last year totaled about $9 billion, the Government Accountability Office reported Friday.
The Democratic proposal was unveiled amid fanfare at mid-week by Pelosi, D-Calif., a longtime foe of offshore drilling. It followed weeks of Republican protests over congressional inaction on energy legislation as summertime gas prices topped $4 per gallon.
With GOP candidates nationwide running on the slogan of "Drill Here. Drill Now. Pay Less," Pelosi was under pressure from many Democrats to bring an energy bill to the floor this fall. A group of House Democrats led by Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii, a confidant of presidential nominee Barack Obama, joined in July with some Republicans to sponsor a pro-drilling bill.
Pelosi signaled her willingness to lift the ban soon after that.
She told reporters last week that she was willing to endorse drilling as part of a comprehensive effort to boost U.S. energy production, lower prices and spur the development of alternative power sources like solar and wind energy.
Pelosi called the bill a "reasonable compromise" that "will protect consumers and taxpayers with strong action to lower the price at the pump and end taxpayer giveaways to big oil. "
"It will ensure a clean, green future through energy efficiency and conservation," Pelosi said, "and it will commit America to renewable energy and help create millions of good-paying green jobs."
Abercrombie's Web site described him as "heavily involved" in developing the Democratic leadership's plan and said it will include many provisions sought by him and other pro-drilling Democrats.
But Rep. John Peterson, a Pennsylvania Republican who partnered with Abercrombie on the bill announced in July, said the new Democratic initiative "does absolutely nothing to increase the domestic production of oil and natural gas and decrease our dependence of foreign imports.
"In fact, doing nothing at all would better than supporting this legislation," Peterson added.
Democratic leaders have promised that the minority will have an opportunity to offer an alternative plan when the new Democratic bill comes to the House floor next week.
The debate could be one of the sternest tests to date of Pelosi's ability to hold Democratic members in line.
Meanwhile in the Senate, participants in a bipartisan "energy summit" continued work Friday on a package of legislation that apparently will include permission for drilling off the coasts of Virginia, Georgia and the Carolinas, as well as proposals to extend tax breaks for the development of renewable energy sources.
The Senate proposals, some of which could be voted on next week, reportedly also would open new areas in the Gulf of Mexico to drilling.
Dale Eisman, (703) 913-9872 or dale.eisman@pilotonline.com
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mathmatically impossible
"One big reason congress has not been able to deliver is because of Tom Coburn. He is personally responsible for blocking many, many bills. But hey, it is easier to blame the democrats, right?"
um...how many members of congress are there exactly? Yeah, more of the same from the Obamite partisans.
One Word Jamies75817 - Huh?
Your comment is more ironic than you may be aware of. Either that or some highly intelligent person is parodying a typical Bush-Cheney-McCain supporter. Can you clear that up for us? All I can say is if your comments are to be taken literally then I hope every potential independent voter who is still undecided will read your post. If so, you'd better learn to say, "President Obama!"
the over-all costs
to drill off shore does not justify the results. That's something Republicans should understand, everyone except George Bush and Dick Cheney of course, who have put this country in trillions of dollars worth of deficit.
Gotta love em...
Gotta love those democrats. Let's try to appease the population with a back door policy that no one will agree to but claim that we "compromised". Can you say doomed to failure from the start? Why would states not share in the royalties? Pelosi and her socialist party need to go.
You're too funny wspeid
Your comment:The answer is creating Research & Development jobs that pay a living wage and will lead to scientific advances that reduce the need for domestic or foreign oil, baby
First, I know of no Minimum Wage R&D jobs, do you? Are they the ones in the back office at Taco Bell? Second, Jimmy Carter, when he signed the windfalls profits tax on oil in the late 70's, stated that we would be OUT OF OIL in 10 years. Well, I guess I found the fountain of oil because my cars have been running just fine since 1989, that would have been the year we were out of oil.
It was R&D BABY that allows us to continue to drill. That one law sent us from 35% imports on oil to 60% imports. Why? Because the oil companies could get it cheaper elsewhere, pay the tax, and still give us 99cent gas. I wonder what would have happened if that law was never in place? And where did all that tax money go? hmmm
stupid is
is stupid does,this is what you get when all of you folks who voted democrat four years ago,under the notion,that miss nancy,and her incompitant crew of fools,out did the incompitant crew of previous fools,ha!bush may,"suck"in some of your folks eyes,but good greif the democrat controlled house and senate,is beyond "suck"lol!problem is this is the end result of many years of poor politicans making there way to DC.misinformed public,compliments of the ever incompitant media,with the slanted view,and lets not forget the lazy,complacent public,in not comming out to vote!and bam!bottom line folks where to blame just as much as anyone else.
Pathfinder's Comments Make No Sense
Only someone trying desperately to justify voting Republican would reach for the list of inane reasons that Pathfinder levels as criticisms toward Democrats. I mean Lincoln? Really! Not only would he not recognize the Republican party today, it would NOT embrace his liberal (social engineering) values. Give it a rest. Vote for McSame if you must, but don't put that garbage out there as something real to discourage folks from voting Democratic. I could go on about your other rants too, but then alas, I would be ranting myself.
Wind (C.B.)
Yeah, C.B., I agree, but what about that warm a fuzzy feeling you get inside by using wind power and thinking you are helping the environment and "global warming".
I see that no Dems want to answer my questions!
I really would like to know the answer to the question that I posed last night and are below! I'll have to guess that backing the democrats that are in office now and chosing to be a democrat has to be a puely gutless choice! I freind once told me that he was a liberal democrat, we talked and afterwards I told him that he was not! He was a Libertarian! That was 5 yrs ago. I personally am registered as a Republican only because the Constitution Party is rarly on the NC ballot.
The point
The point of this particular plan is to help Obama without actually doing anything. They can tell by the polls that this is a big issue with voters but assume the average voter is too dumb/lazy to read the fine print.
POLOSI Commet
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters that sharing royalties with the states would force Congress to overhaul the entire budget, an impossible task just three weeks before the beginning of a new fiscal year.
So they already have revenue figured in without drilling???
VOTE THE DEMOCRATS OUT!!!
AND
Republicans scoffed at the explanation, noting that Democrats have not invoked "pay-go" in signing off a multi billion-dollar bailout of mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
The Democrats are bailing out the Mortgage Companies with our TAX money
VOTE THEM OUT AGAIN!!!
vote the loser demorats out!
I will vote against anyone against increasing our own fuel supply output and allowing our state to benefit out of office. Also, wind energy is an expensive, inefficient joke!!!
Questions for you dems
Bush has a approval rating somewhere around 30%. Democrat controlled Congress have about 10-15% but you still love them? Pulosi pulls a bait and switch on both parties on this oil drilling and you still love her? One of you big heros is Lincoln but he was a Rep., and you still love him? Dems. were mostly the one blocking the civil rights ammendment but you still back them? Obama has NO experience and has done NOTHING and mostly votes PRESENT, and you love him?
How can anyone with good concience vote democrat?
What the hell is up with that?
I think that the Founding Fathers were right on the money when they set up this great country, only land owners can vote!
Oil, Gas, Nuclear, Wind, Solar Panels Etc.
What Americans Do Not Need, is 4 more years of not allowing a vote to drill for American oil; Americans can not afford 4 more years of an equal opportunity on the job training program, or 4 more years of Senate hearings on steroids under Pelosi and dems, or 4 more years of democrats under Nancy Pelosi’s no action for Americans. Combine these with the incredibly bad judgment and inexperience of the Junior Senator Barack Hussein Obama and his gray hair mentor shoot from the lip Biden, who clearly represents NO CHANGE for the American people.
What the Americans need is to get off purchasing foreign oil asap and start drilling for new oil and gas plus using all their own new sources of energy now. Because Every 1 year of delay in drilling for USA oil=10 more years dependency on foreign oil, which =20 more years of fighting foreign radical Islamic terrorists paid for by our continued purchase of $700 billion per year in foreign oil.....Keep smiling....
Wind...
Perhaps a little reading on the ineffiency, unreliability, maintainence and consumer costs would be in order before trying to claim that the Danish are smarter than us by using wind. It is already well documented by the AWEO that Europes wind farms do little to nothing to support electricity demands and that most countries are or have already cancelled subsidies to the industry due to lack of return on investment. Conventional methods of producing electricity have not been even remotely replaced by wind. Actually, trying to shut down or restart conventional plants, at the mercy of the wind, costs more money and produces more green house gases than just leaving them running.
Look Ahead & Not Back!!!!!!
To "what a big suprise", if we had thrown a few bucks down that hole 10 years ago, we may not be having a few of the issues that we are having today. If you have something that will make our lives better without having to depend so much on foreign oil, then add your two cents and stop pointing fingers (it's like the little mouse that wants to put the bell around the cats neck to here it comming, but wants somebody else to due the work) otherwise stop whining and support your countries future and to "its time to vote out the Republicans", stop acting like sheepale and start acting like people/grown adults. Dont just listen to one side and for god sake turn the channel once in awhile and get out of your moms basement. Have eneough sense to due some homework and actually look up and verify what each of the elect have done in and with thier lives (past actions usually will predict/support how they will act in the future). I did my 20 years in Uncle Sams Navy and I would due it again, I have had the chance to travel around this big ball of dirt that "God" let us borrower and I will tell you as so many before me have said, there is no place in the world like the United States, being th
Secede?
Is it possible to secede from Washington D.C. and the two incompetent, unqualified political parties who claim to be our leaders? If these two groups are our best I sure would hate to see our worst.
One big reason congress has not been able to deliver
is because of Tom Coburn. He is personally responsible for blocking many, many bills. But hey, it is easier to blame the democrats, right?
Energy
Energy is the life Blood of this Country and having OUR own Energy Independence is not just an idea, it is a National Security must.
National Security should take precedence over any of the laws preventing this Nation from the Energy needed to make us strong.
There are those that wish to destroy this Nation, and the restriction against using our own Natural Resources is one of the tools they will use against us.
We need a "Manhattan Project" for our own Energy Independence, and true Patriots that will bypass all of the Anti-American laws and Politicians, EnviroNazis,and anyone else keeping us from that Independence.
The poison pill of not letting the States get any of the Royalties from OSD the Democrats want to use regarding Off Shore Drilling is one of the ways of preventing Americans from having the Energy to run this country!
It is up to the Citizen/Patriots to understand who is on our side and who is against us.
Where is The Right's Contempt for the "Liberal" Media?
This article was so biased that it is alarming. Worse than that it presents itself as news. Has Pat Robertson bought the Pilot? A week or two ago, I heard the whining from the right over an op-ed piece that they thought was slanted (it was, but it was on the editorial page).
I guess any newspaper that allows Kerry Doughtery (sp?) to spew her right wing garbage on the front of the local section needs to be watched carefully for Fox-like right wing presentation of Republican talking points.