Bush urges Democrats in Congress to allow offshore drilling

Source: Agencies  |   2008-6-22  |     ONLINE EDITION

US President George W. Bush is accusing Democrats in Congress of blocking his energy proposals, saying they are partly to blame for high gasoline costs pinching Americans' budgets.

In his yesterday's radio address, Bush urged Congress to lift its long-standing ban on offshore oil and gas drilling to increase US energy production. Democrats have rejected the idea.

"This is a difficult time for many American families," Bush said. "Rising gasoline prices and economic uncertainty can affect everything from what food parents put on the table to where they can go on vacation."

Bush said offshore drilling could yield up to 18 billion barrels of oil over time, although it would take years for production to start.

There are two prohibitions on offshore drilling, one imposed by Congress and another by executive order signed by Bush's father in 1990. Bush's brother, Jeb, fiercely opposed offshore drilling when he was governor of Florida. What the president now proposes would rescind his father's decision _ but the president took the position that Congress had to act first and then he would follow behind.

Congressional Democrats have been quick to reject the push for lifting the drilling moratorium, saying oil companies already have under lease 68 million acres on federal lands and waters _ outside the ban area _ that are not being developed. Drilling proponents say that number is misleading because sometimes it takes years for actual development to take place.

"This week, President Bush and his Republicans allies rallied behind the oil industry's political agenda once again and advocated opening more of America's federal land, including coastal areas, to drilling," said Rep. Nick Rahall, a Democrat from West Virginia and chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee.

"This proposal will not bring the type of relief Americans deserve at the pump," Rahall said in the Democratic response.