The U.S. Congress voted yesterday, with one hand in its pocket and the other half-way to the fuel pump, to overturn a 27-year ban on offshore oil and gas drilling, in the face of rising oil prices for the American consumer.
Until the landmark decision, a 1981 federal moratorium had prohibited states from oil and gas drilling and exploration - protecting virtually the entire Atlantic and Pacific coasts and sections of the Gulf of Mexico.
Lifting the ban was part of an energy bill designed to increase U.S. energy supplied while reducing American dependence on foreign oil supplies. The bill was put forward to the House as part of a package by the Democratic Party, which also promoted investments in renewable energy and strategies to help improve energy efficiency.
However, the remainder of the terms of the package are still being resisted by the House as they believe the terms will stifle the domestic oil industry.
The Democrat-controlled lower house passed the vote by 236, to 189, yesterday.
The bill will allow state governments to permit drilling between 50-100 miles from their coastlines, with seas further offshore being completely open for oil excavation and production.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, said: “This legislation is a result of reasonable compromise that will put us on a path to energy independence by expanding domestic supply.”
She added that the bill, if passed: “Will be significant in strengthening our national security.”
Interestingly, the party had previously opposed Republican calls to end the drilling ban - saying such a move would fail to have any immediate impact upon the price of a barrel of oil.
The shift in party policy is without doubt in response to domestic discontent over rising oil prices and fears over the future of the U.S. economy.
With the voting from the House in, the next hurdle for supporters of the bill is to pass it through the Senate, where the support of at least 60 out of the 100 senators will be required. The bill will most likely need to be passed before November’s Presidential election if it is to be brought into law anytime soon.
The draft Senate law also loosens drilling prohibitions, but not as much as the Congressional one.
The two bills of the Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act will need to be passed, and combined into one compromise document before going to the White House for signature into law.
