CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS – ENERGY
May 16, 2011 – 6:45 p.m.
With White House Weighing In, Senate Turns to Oil Production Measures
By Geof Koss, CQ Staff
Senators are pressing forward this week with legislation that mirrors some of the initiatives for boosting domestic offshore oil production that President Obama embraced over the weekend.
The president announced a series of administrative actions addressing permitting and leasing, amid criticism from Republicans who accuse the administration of pursuing policies that restrict drilling and push up gas prices.
At least two bills that will be the subject of an Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing Tuesday would promote similar objectives. The bills may be marked up as early as next week.
In his radio address over the weekend, Obama announced a new federal team to streamline handling of Alaska drilling permits — winning applause from Begich and Lisa Murkowksi, the state’s senior senator and the Energy panel’s top Republican. A Senate aide noted that Begich’s bill would also allow for state and local government participation in the process, and would authorize funding.
A blanket one-year extension for such leases was also among the steps that Obama announced over the weekend. Hutchison called Obama’s announcement “welcome news,” but she said it was “unclear what leases will be extended and for how long.”
“Until we have assurance that every moratorium-impacted lease is made whole, I will continue to push the [legislation],” Hutchison said.
Among the other steps Obama announced were the establishment of annual lease sales in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve, accelerated efforts to inventory offshore reserves in the mid-Atlantic region, and the resumption of lease sales in the western and central Gulf of Mexico that were canceled after last year’s spill.
Interior Secretary
Also on the committee’s hearing agenda is a bill (
Environmentalists Unhappy
The president’s new proposals drew criticism from environmentalists, including the Sierra Club, which headlined a May 14 news release: “Has Big Oil Amnesia Spread to the White House?” Drilling proponents, meanwhile, offered muted praise.
With White House Weighing In, Senate Turns to Oil Production Measures
Republicans, who for months have linked rising gas prices to the administration’s drilling policies, were in no hurry to let go of what they view as a winning political issue.
House Natural Resources Chairman
“While positive,” he said, the policies do not “erase the administration’s long job-destroying record of locking up America’s energy resources.”
The Senate is expected to vote this week on competing energy proposals, including a Republican bill (
Democrats will counter with a bill (
Neither bill is expected to get the 60 votes necessary, and Majority Leader