Offshore Drilling

Finger-pointing and political stunts from Congress won't lower gasoline prices. But that's exactly what lawmakers gave the public before adjourning for their August recess. A group of House Republicans are still protesting on the floor over Democrats' refusal to lift the ban on offshore oil drilling. The United States does need to reduce its dependence on foreign oil, and the package of long-term solutions should include increased exploration. But politicians are pandering for votes when they claim a vote today for offshore drilling will decrease gas prices in the near future.

Reacting to a rash of spills that have stained U.S. shores, the House yesterday placed vast stretches of coastal waters off-limits to oil companies, barring oil and gas exploration off part of the Eastern seaboard, the Florida Keys and the California coast. The measure, passed 374-49, puts a one-year moratorium on the sale of new offshore drilling rights in five areas, including the Atlantic Ocean within 50 miles of the coasts of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Your editorial "Oil spill is a warning" on Friday recognizes the continued need for increased domestic oil and natural gas and urges Congress and the industry to step up efforts to make certain offshore drilling is as safe as possible. We are doing just that. Working closely with the Department of the Interior, the industry quickly assembled two task forces of experts within days of the Deepwater Horizon incident to address issues related to offshore equipment and operating practices.

As oil spews into the Gulf of Mexico from a blown-out well, candidates in New Jersey's most competitive congressional race are making offshore drilling an issue in the district that runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Delaware River. Freshman Democratic U.S. Rep. John Adler, like most of the state's politicians, is against drilling off New Jersey's shore. But Republican nominee Jon Runyan, a former Eagles tackle, says he's in favor of drilling off the state's coast, as long as it can be done safely and New Jersey's residents pass a ballot question supporting it. Asked if he would support such a referendum, Adler said, "I don't want to take any steps that would lead us in any way to offshore drilling.

Congressional candidates Jon Runyan and Justin Murphy said Tuesday that they supported oil drilling off the New Jersey coast, a politically volatile topic following a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The Third District Republican candidates, appearing at a meeting with The Inquirer's editorial board, said that the April 20 spill was a tragedy, but that offshore drilling would help the country get over its dependence on foreign oil. Runyan said New Jersey residents should be able to vote on whether to permit drilling.

With the Atlantic Ocean in the background, Gov. Corzine and other New Jersey Democrats yesterday decried a Republican effort to lift a federal moratorium on offshore oil and natural-gas drilling and called for a permanent ban. The 127-mile-long Jersey Shore is one of the state's "signature assets" that drives $37 billion a year in tourism, Corzine said. That could be irreparably harmed if an accident or spill spoiled New Jersey beaches, he said. "In many ways, it shapes our way of life, and we will fight any attempt to jeopardize it," said Corzine, who spoke on the boardwalk along with U.S. Sens.

President Obama's decision to expand offshore oil and gas exploration poses an unnecessary threat to the beaches and economies of New Jersey and Delaware. The president announced he'll allow more study and new drilling from Delaware to Florida, in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, and in some waters off Alaska. Leases in the Atlantic Ocean would begin off the coast of Virginia. Obama isn't really drilling for oil - not now, anyway. He's drilling for votes for his comprehensive energy plan, wooing senators from states where new oil exploration is popular.

The same energy issue splitting Democrats and Republicans in Washington - whether to lift the offshore oil-drilling ban - is dividing candidates in New Jersey's hottest federal races. U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D., N.J.) opposes President Bush's proposal to lift the ban, saying the debate "is not about producing more oil, it's really about producing more profits for Big Oil. " He said oil companies should exploit the land and undersea areas already available to them for oil drilling.

The Obama administration moved Wednesday to abolish the beleaguered agency that oversees offshore drilling and replace it with three separate entities. The plan by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar would eliminate the Minerals Management Service and replace it with two bureaus and a revenue collection office. The name Minerals Management Service would no longer exist, a spokeswoman said. Under the plan - the second proposed restructuring of the drilling agency since the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last month - the three main functions of the minerals agency would be split up to avoid what Salazar called a "real or perceived" conflict of interests.

WASHINGTON - The oil spill is reaching far beyond the Gulf Coast and deep into American politics in an important election year. It's calling into question President Obama's proposal to open new offshore areas to oil drilling. It's complicating already difficult efforts to pass a controversial bill aimed at curbing climate change. It's also all but certain to become a major issue in many of this fall's campaigns for control of Congress. Yet as the spill pushes the needle of public opinion toward the anti-offshore-drilling position - taking some politicians with it - longer-term politics and policy remain tempered by the fact that much of America's future domestic oil and natural gas reserves are out there in deep water, and a majority of Americans still want to tap them.

WASHINGTON - Here is how Philadelphia-area members of Congress voted on major issues last week: House Gulf of Mexico drilling. Voting 263-163, the House sent the Senate a bill (H.R. 1229) that would restore oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico to levels comparable to those in effect before last year's BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The bill would require the Interior Department to act within 60 days on about 40 permit applications now undergoing safety and environmental reviews.

BELMAR, N.J. - The drill-vs.-spill debate is heating up again. Environmental groups in New Jersey are trying to rally opposition against three bills in Congress that would expand offshore oil and gas drilling. But the pain of $4-a-gallon gasoline is renewing pressure from supporters of drilling to do more to add to the nation's energy supplies. A bill that would reopen offshore drilling in Virginia and the Gulf of Mexico passed the Republican-controlled House of Representatives on Thursday with mostly Republican support, 266-149, with 17 abstentions.

Every one of the points in Cynthia Tucker's column was not only ideologically slanted but mind-blowingly false ("GOP burns bipartisan president," Sunday): "Obama's greatest political weakness has been his. . . love for bipartisanship. " Really? And here all along I had mistakenly thought that his party's unquestioned control of both houses of Congress had led him to push for single-party, ideologically based new laws. "If he had ignored recalcitrant Republicans . . . his health-care legislation might have become law without months of damaging political drama.

Studies predicting how global warming will harm the Earth continue to be produced. But the reports are about as innocuous as gnats to the Senate Republicans, who successfully blocked passage of any significant climate-change legislation. A new report from the National Resources Defense Council concludes that a third of all the counties in the contiguous United States will face water shortages by 2050 as a result of global warming. Among the 400 highest-risk counties, eight are in Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia, and seven are in New Jersey.

As oil spews into the Gulf of Mexico from a blown-out well, candidates in New Jersey's most competitive congressional race are making offshore drilling an issue in the district that runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Delaware River. Freshman Democratic U.S. Rep. John Adler, like most of the state's politicians, is against drilling off New Jersey's shore. But Republican nominee Jon Runyan, a former Eagles tackle, says he's in favor of drilling off the state's coast, as long as it can be done safely and New Jersey's residents pass a ballot question supporting it. Asked if he would support such a referendum, Adler said, "I don't want to take any steps that would lead us in any way to offshore drilling.

WASHINGTON - Despite President Obama's promises of better safeguards for offshore drilling, federal regulators continue to approve plans for oil companies to drill in the Gulf of Mexico with minimal or no environmental analysis. The Interior Department's Minerals Management Service has signed off on at least five new offshore drilling projects since June 2, when the agency's acting director announced tougher safety regulations for drilling in the gulf, a McClatchy Newspapers review of public records has found.

The Obama administration moved Wednesday to abolish the beleaguered agency that oversees offshore drilling and replace it with three separate entities. The plan by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar would eliminate the Minerals Management Service and replace it with two bureaus and a revenue collection office. The name Minerals Management Service would no longer exist, a spokeswoman said. Under the plan - the second proposed restructuring of the drilling agency since the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last month - the three main functions of the minerals agency would be split up to avoid what Salazar called a "real or perceived" conflict of interests.

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill has focused attention on the need to reduce American dependence on fossil fuels. While the political debate rages between those who want to expand offshore drilling and those who want to restrict it, there is another option: harvesting the power of the sun. New Jersey has already demonstrated its commitment to solar energy. It's the nation's largest producer of solar power after California, and it has set a goal of garnering 3 percent of its electricity from solar by 2026.

New Jersey congressional candidates Jon Runyan and Justin Murphy said Tuesday that they support oil drilling off the New Jersey coast, a politically volatile topic after the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The Third District Republican candidates, in a meeting with the Inquirer Editorial Board, said that the April 20 spill was a tragedy but that offshore drilling would help the country end its dependence on foreign oil. Runyan said New Jersey residents should be able to vote on whether to permit drilling.

Your editorial "Oil spill is a warning" on Friday recognizes the continued need for increased domestic oil and natural gas and urges Congress and the industry to step up efforts to make certain offshore drilling is as safe as possible. We are doing just that. Working closely with the Department of the Interior, the industry quickly assembled two task forces of experts within days of the Deepwater Horizon incident to address issues related to offshore equipment and operating practices.