Libby Casey, APRN – Washington DC
While the U.S. Senate considered boosting oil companies’ taxes today, the House passed a bill the oil companies like. It would open more U.S. coastal waters to drilling. The bill, called the “Reversing President Obama’s Offshore Moratorium Act” passed 243 to 179. All but nine Republicans supported it, and 21 Democrats crossed the aisle to vote in favor.
Many Democrats and the White House say the bill would interfere with federal policy, and undermine the regulatory process.
The bill would open up the most productive parts of the outer continental shelf to oil and gas development, including off Alaska’s shores. It sets a goal of producing three Billion barrels of oil a day within 16 years.
Congressman Don Young took to the House Floor Wednesday to push for it.
The White House says it does not have a ban on offshore drilling in places like Alaska; rather companies which want to drill have to make their way through the permitting process before they get a green light.
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