The Times Picayune - Vitter Predicts Moratorium to End Next Month

News Article

By Jonathan Tilove

With Congress heading toward the exits for the election recess, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., maintained her hold Tuesday on the appointment of a key administration official until the Obama administration lifts its drilling moratorium, which Sen. David Vitter, R-La., predicted could happen next month.

Vitter's forecast -- tempered by his concern that even without the moratorium, new regulations will stall a quick return to drilling -- followed an afternoon meeting he and Landrieu had with Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Michael Bromwich, the head of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement.

"I pushed Secretary Salazar and Director Bromwich in the meeting today to end the moratorium and establish realistic workable rules for producers to move forward, and it appears that the moratorium could be lifted next month," Vitter said.

Source