AP: Congress Takes Up Offshore Drilling Bill

[Eugene]

Congress Takes Up Offshore Drilling Bill


Tuesday December 5, 2006 12:31 PM

By H. JOSEF HEBERT

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - Congress is making a final push to open a large area of the eastern
Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling, aware the Democratic majority next year is less
likely to embrace new offshore energy development.

The House was to vote Tuesday on a Senate plan to open 8.3 million acres of the Gulf
that is now off limits to drilling and also steer hundreds of millions of dollars of federal
royalty payments to four Gulf coast states - a windfall for Louisiana, which would get
about half the money.

The drilling bill is one of a string of measures House GOP leaders have readied for this
week's "lame-duck" session under an expedited procedure that bars amendments, but also
requires a two-thirds vote for approval.

-snip-

House leaders have been bombarded by calls from a wide range of business groups -
from chemical companies to pulp and paper industries as well as electric utilities and
manufacturers - for the House to accept the Senate-passed bill and send it to President
Bush for his signature.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6259821,00.html