Drilling bill? Don’t be fooled

Charles Reichley
Published: September 18, 2008

Tuesday night, House Democrats passed what Reuters called a “bill allowing offshore drilling.”  Don’t be fooled by the headlines. This bill is a last-ditch attempt to stop offshore drilling, while pretending to
support drilling to insulate members of the Democratic caucus from the outrage of the American people.

The truth is the offshore drilling ban expires on Sept. 30. If Congress does nothing at all, offshore drilling will be a reality in two short weeks. As Reuters reports, “With the moratorium facing expiration on
September 30 and voter sentiment changing, Democrats supported repealing the ban as part of a larger energy package.” Why vote to “repeal the ban” if the ban is expiring? The answer is that the
Democrats’ bill, rather than “repealing the ban,” strengthens it.

In July, with oil prices at almost $150 a barrel, House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi called offshore drilling “a hoax. It will neither reduce gas prices nor increase energy independence.” But now, with oil
around $90 a barrel, we are supposed to believe Pelosi thinks offshore drilling is a great idea? No — but she’ll lose Democratic seats if they don’t pretend to allow drilling.

The bill just passed bans all drilling within 50 miles of the coast, where the Interior Department says almost 88 percent of the 18 billion barrels of offshore oil is located. The bill lifts the ban on areas
beyond 100 miles, where there are almost no known reserves.

It allows states to decide on drilling between 50-100 miles, but cuts them out of all revenue. Without any economic incentive, there’s really no reason for states to vote for drilling off their shores — which
is of course what the Democrats really want — no drilling.

Virginia lawmakers were hoping to open our waters to drilling and use the revenue to fund transportation projects. But the Democrats’ bill denies us any money from our offshore resources. Unfortunately,
the state’s three Democratic house members voted to forfeit this money.

The way this “energy bill” was prepared is shameful. Two years after the Democrats took control of Washington by decrying backroom deals and promising a new openness and bipartisanship, they
presented this 300-page bill on Monday night, with the vote scheduled 24 hours later. The bill skipped the normal hearings. The Democrats also banned all amendments, presenting a take-it-or-leave-it bill
written in secret with little chance for review.

The bill includes pork spending, punitive taxes on the companies that provide oil, and meddlesome new rules requiring most gas stations to add unproven and possibly unneeded “alternate energy” pumps.
It guarantees large increases in our electric bills, by requiring our electric companies to build expensive new “alternative energy” plants using solar or wind energy.

Since these sources of energy are intermittent, companies will need backup facilities, meaning building expensive extra power plants. Nuclear energy would achieve better results and be more reliable,
but the bill doesn’t count nuclear as “alternative” energy even though it is non-polluting, doesn’t contribute to global warming, and cuts our dependence on foreign energy supplies.

The Democrats are scrambling to save themselves in the face of polls that show that Americans favor drilling our own oil rather than paying foreign countries for it. Unfortunately, their bill is a laughable
election ploy which will do nothing to provide more energy for America. They claim it opens millions of acres for drilling — but that only helps if you can drill where the oil is.

Oil prices have come down considerably in the past two months since President Bush lifted the executive ban on drilling. Contrary to the Democrats’ assertions, just knowing there are more supplies
coming in the future makes a big difference.

Two years after they took control of Congress, it is time to judge the Democrats on what has happened in this country. Financial turmoil, rising unemployment, a growing deficit, soaring gas prices,
increased dependence on foreign oil — these are the accomplishments the Democrats want us to forget. This no-drill bill is their latest attempt to hide what they have done.

While Virginia’s Democratic representatives gave away the farm, Virginia’s Republican representatives stood firm for us. Now we should let the current ban expire. Then we can pass a sensible bill that
allows Virginia to develop its oil and gas resources and reap the benefits, while reducing the money we send to Venezuela and the Middle East.

Charles Reichley has been a Prince William County resident since 1981. He can be reached at critically .