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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2008 > July > 14 > Entry
Reactions to Bush’s offshore drilling announcement
President George W. Bush announced today that he will lift an executive ban on offshore drilling that’s been in place since 1990.
That means little unless Congress also lifts its moratorium on the practice. Still, local lawmakers, particularly Republicans in favor of offshore drilling, were quick to weigh in:
Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio:
“Today’s action by President Bush is an important step forward, but it must be matched by Congress lifting its moratorium as soon as possible. Ohio families are being hit hard by sky-high gasoline and diesel prices and we cannot afford to wait any longer to tap the resources we have available here at home.
“That’s why I fought to prevent a 53-cent gas tax hike that had been included in the Lieberman-Warner climate bill. And it is why I proposed a new Manhattan Project that will put us on a path toward energy independence. In addition to increasing our domestic energy supply by exploring the Outer Continental Shelf and ANWR, we must use tar sands and oil shale and we must expand our refining capacity. We need to find more and use less.
“Unfortunately, environmental groups have convinced some of my colleagues to block anything that would increase supply and bring down prices at the pump. I’ve been voting for increased domestic exploration for a decade. If we had started exploring ANWR 10 years ago when President Clinton vetoed it, and coupled it with a comprehensive energy plan, we wouldn’t be in this predicament today. But now the chickens have come home to roost. We can afford to wait no longer.”
House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester:
“As American families and small businesses face record prices at the pump, they are counting on their leaders in Congress to work together on reforms to help reduce fuel costs.
“Republicans stand ready to work with the Democratic Majority to bring an end to this outdated ban so we can reduce our nation’s costly dependence on foreign sources of energy, empower states and localities to make decisions regarding energy exploration, and create thousands of good-paying jobs here at home.
“Lifting the ban is a key part of the House Republicans’ ‘all of the above’ energy plan to lower fuel costs. Enacting this plan, which would increase production of American energy, improve energy efficiency and conservation, and encourage investment in groundbreaking research in advanced alternative and renewable energy technologies, will signal to the rest of the world that America will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to bring down fuel costs.
UPDATE: Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, is not pleased:
“With two oil men in the White House and an energy policy that could have been written by Exxon, it’s hardly surprising that the president would try to pitch the American people on more drilling.
“Our nation’s energy crisis is a direct result of a failed tax policy, failed foreign policy, and a head-in-the-sand attitude toward alternative energy. The notion that we can drill our way out of this mess is a crock and cop-out. There’s no there, there.”
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