But when it comes to the ANTIWAR and IMPEACHMENT CROWD and OUR PRESSURE, pfffffffffttttt!!!!!
Senate Rushes Through $613 BILLION War Bill
"Offshore drilling is headed for a vote; Ban in jeopardy as Democrats shift position" by Paul Kane, Washington Post | September 15, 2008
WASHINGTON - Congressional Democrats, balancing political reality against a policy they have long opposed, are on the cusp of approving legislation that would open the Atlantic and Pacific oceans to oil drilling as close as 50 miles offshore.
And EVEN CLOSER (read on)!!!!!
With votes scheduled this week in the House and Senate, Democrats have essentially given up defending the current ban on drilling within 200 miles offshore along both coasts. Instead, led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, they are offering a mix of proposals that would allow drilling, with the waters off Massachusetts, Virginia, and Georgia most likely to be the first affected.
Hey, that is HERE!!!!
And HOW CLOSE TO SHORE are they coming (read on, enviros)!
Environmentalists and industry analysts disagree over the impact the various legislative proposals would have on oil production, with industry experts contending that the most precious reserves still would be off-limits. But both sides agree that because of the politics of $4-a-gallon gasoline this summer and a pending legislative deadline, the nearly 40-year drilling ban is in jeopardy.
"It's in deep, deep trouble. I won't pronounce it dead, but it's in deep trouble," said Warner Chabot, a vice president of the Ocean Conservancy, an environmental group opposed to drilling. House and Senate Democrats have been assembling different proposals for the past few weeks after absorbing months of Republican criticism as gas prices soared.
Under pressure from moderate Democrats fearful of November election losses, Pelosi took the first formal step Wednesday by unveiling a proposal that would open both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to drilling.
The biggest target for new drilling at the 100-mile mark would be in Georges Bank, off the coasts of Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire, where cod fishing was once the dominant industry. Oil and natural gas are extracted not far away, in Canadian waters.
Looks like I won't be eating any more fish.
The most sought-after area, however, is the eastern Gulf of Mexico near Florida's western coast. Drilling rigs already operate in the gulf off Houston, New Orleans, and Mississippi, giving oil producers a near-certain guarantee of finding oil near Florida.
Of course, OIL is VERY IMPORTANT to the CORPORATE MSM of AmeriKa!
Ever notice that, readers? Did you read my posts today?
It also would be less costly for producers to move their production and delivery systems to the other side of the gulf than to place new rigs in previously unexplored regions of the Atlantic or Pacific.
Many lawmakers privately predict the energy legislation will stall in parliamentary gridlock, but Congress has its own statutory deadline to deal with by Sept. 30. At that point, the annual congressional moratorium on offshore drilling expires. President Bush lifted the executive ban on offshore drilling early this summer.
That means Pelosi has barely two weeks to forge a compromise or face the end of the moratorium. That would allow drilling within three miles off all coasts. Faced with such a predicament, Democrats are increasingly likely to add their new drilling legislation to a catchall spending bill.Seeing as ALL THE COASTS are going to be OPENED UP, I will bet the Republicans kill this legislation!!!!
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