Drilling

Statement

The House also considered another bill related to drilling, H.R. 1229: Restarting Offshore Leasing Now Act. You may recall that last week the House passed H.R. 1230 which allows for more domestic oil drilling. This legislation would expedite the approval process for companies wishing to drill on the Outer Continental Shelf. It provides the Interior Department with just 60 days to respond to a drilling permit request. If the Interior Department does not respond within 60 days then the request is automatically considered approved. This bill basically seeks to rush through the approval of drilling applications without giving officials enough time for proper review

On Thursday the House considered H.R. 1231: Reversing President Obama's Offshore Moratorium Act. This is the third bill that puts the focus squarely on drilling to address rising gas prices. H.R. 1231 requires the Secretary of the Interior to make available half of the unleased areas off the Atlantic and Pacific coast, and in Alaska, for drilling. This will open up drilling all along the East Coast down to North Carolina, off the California Coast, in the Arctic Ocean and Bristol Bay in Alaska. It also completely disregards the states and their input when it comes to drilling off their beaches. The leases will become available regardless of any objections a state may have.

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