US House to Vote on Offshore Drilling Bill
Date: 04-Dec-06
Country: USA
Author: Chris Baltimore
House Majority Leader John Boehner decided to allow the vote on the limited drilling bill passed by the Senate. The move ends months of jockeying by House Republicans who had tried to convince their Senate colleagues to support a bill that would open nearly all US Atlantic and Pacific coastal waters more than 100 miles offshore.
With Congress facing an abbreviated "lame duck" session before it adjourns later this month, key House Republicans capitulated.
The plan to rescind a 25-year ban on drilling off Florida's coast and redistribute billions of dollars in federal royalties to four nearby Gulf Coast states is set for a vote on Tuesday.
Under the approach chosen by leaders, debate will be limited to 40 minutes and no amendments can be offered, but a two-thirds majority is required for the bill to pass.
The bill cleared the Senate 72-23 in August, and if the House passes it unchanged it could be quickly signed into law by President George W. Bush, who supports the legislation.
The lure of extra funds convinced some Gulf Coast lawmakers in the House to throw their support behind the Senate bill.
"I felt it was critical for Louisiana to start receiving our fair share of our own oil and gas revenues, and have thus been pushing leadership to accept this compromise bill," said Rep. Bobby Jindal, Louisiana Republican.
Large sums of money are at stake. The bill would divert an estimated $170 billion in federal royalties to states from the federal treasury over 60 years. Drilling royalties are the government's second-biggest revenue source next to taxes.
House Republicans had opposed the Senate bill, saying that an offshore drilling plan proposed by the Interior Department for 2007-2012 would already open most of the Gulf Coast acreage without any legislative action.
But faced with the prospect of limited time and a Democratic-controlled Congress next year they decided to accept the Senate plan.
"While I don't believe (the Senate bill) represents the answer to our country's worsening supply situation and resulting record-breaking prices for consumers and industrial users, I do believe it's another step toward that ultimate and very important national goal," said Rep. John Peterson, Pennsylvania Republican.
Environmental groups criticized the bill and said Congress should focus on conservation, not drilling.
"Opening our nation's coastline to destructive drilling will ... do nothing to lower gas prices for American families or energy costs for American businesses, and will keep our nation dangerously dependent on oil," said Athan Manuel at the Sierra Club.
Energy lobbyists have been clamoring for months for Congress to expanded offshore drilling to provide needed extra supply to natural gas users from farmer to manufacturers.
"We're pleased that this bill is going to move," said David Parker, president of the American Gas Association. "The beauty of that is it gives us a vote and thats one more step toward
passage."
(Additional reporting by Lisa Lambert)