381 Gt Ocs Updates
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OCS Updates DDI 2008 Alex A.
OCS Updates OCS Updates..........................................................................................................................................................1 Will Pass..................................................................................................................................................................2 Will Pass..................................................................................................................................................................3 Won’t Pass..............................................................................................................................................................4 OCS Bad – Bipart Key..........................................................................................................................................5 OCS Bad – GOP Key.............................................................................................................................................6 OCS Thumper – Pelosi..........................................................................................................................................7 Bush Push...............................................................................................................................................................8 OCS Solves Case....................................................................................................................................................9 A2 Out of Session.................................................................................................................................................10 Natural Gas N/U...................................................................................................................................................11
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OCS Updates DDI 2008 Alex A.
Will Pass New bipart legislation is forging compromise on OCS Marine Log, 8-3-08, “Gang of Ten could get offshore drilling ban eased”, http://www.marinelog.com/DOCS/ NEWSMMVII/2008aug00030.html A bipartisan coalition of senators led by Senator Kent Conrad (D-N.D.)--instantly tagged "The Gang of Ten"--has unveiled the "New Energy Reform Act of 2008." It's aimed at laying the groundwork to transition America's motor vehicle fleets to fuels other than gasoline and diesel. To ease gas prices in the interim, the proposal includes significant conservation provisions, consumer tax credits, and responsible measures to increase domestic production--including opening up new areas for offshore oil drilling. Senator Conrad says he believes the group's compromise energy plan "will generate a groundswell of support among the American people as well as his colleagues in Congress and lead to the development of comprehensive legislation to tackle the nation's energy crisis." A sign that the proposal might just overcome the partisan split on the issue is that presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama has said that he welcomes the bipartisan effort as "an important step in the process of reducing our dangerous dependence on foreign oil." "Like all compromises, it also includes steps that I haven't always supported. I remain skeptical that new offshore drilling will bring down gas prices in the short-term or significantly reduce our oil dependence in the long-term, though I do welcome the establishment of a process that will allow us to make future drilling decisions based on science and fact," he commented. "I've always believed that finding consensus will be essential to solving our energy crisis, and today's package represents a good faith effort at a new bipartisan beginning," he said.
Will pass – bipart support George Stephanopoulos, Transcript – Interview w/ House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 8-3-08, “Stephanopoulos to Pelosi: Why No Up or Down Vote on Drilling?”, http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2008/08/03/stephanopoulos-pelosi-why-no-or-down-votedrilling Except it’s not just Republicans that are calling for this. Members of your own caucus say we must have a vote. Congressman Jason Altmire, let me show our viewers right now, says, “There is going to be a vote. September 30 will not come and go without a vote on the opening the Outer Continental Shelf. The message has been delivered. The issue can't be ignored any longer.” He says he speaks for a lot of Democrats. He's talked to the leadership and a vote must happen.
Will pass – GOP is generating momentum Frank James, Tribune Washington Bureau, 8-4-08, “House GOP's oil-drilling protest resumes”, http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/08/house_gops_drilling_protest_to.html Scores of Republican House members will return to the Hill today, despite Congress being on recess, to engage in legislative guerrilla tactics meant to turn the screws on Speaker Nancy Pelosi who has so far refused to allow a vote on domestic oil drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf and the Arctic Natural Wildlife Refuge. Republicans took to the House floor on Friday to protest against Pelosi even though the Speaker made sure to turn the cameras and most of the lights off. Their specific complaint was that Pelosi allowed the House to recess without allowing the House to vote on energy legislation. It was raucous political theater reminiscent of what Republicans did when they were last in the minority in the early 1990s. With a majority of the public now saying it favors increased domestic drilling for oil, the House GOP finally feels the wind at its back on an issue. It isn't about to let up on Pelosi, whose opposition to a floor vote on drilling is getting increasingly unpopular with voters. Even Sen. Barack Obama, the all-but-official Democratic nominee, moved away from Pelosi's position last week, a sure sign that the limb Pelosi is on is being sawed away by no less than the leader of her party.
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Will Pass Will pass – Dem leadership reaching out to GOP Kris Alingod, AHN News Writer, 7-29-08 “Reid Ends Statemate; Offers Republicans A Vote On Offshore Drilling”, http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7011765886 Seeking to end the deadlock on a crucial energy bill, Senate Majority Harry Reid (D-NV) offered Republicans on Monday a vote on offshore drilling despite previous statements that he would never allow legislation expanding coastal oil exploration to reach the floor. Senators voted to 94-0 early last week to advance Reid's bill requiring the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to curb excessive speculation in energy markets. Under the bill, traders would have to provide more information about over-the-counter transactions. The measure also adds restrictions to U.S.-based traders on foreign exchanges. Republicans have been demanding that they be allowed full debate on the measure and to offer provisions lifting a legislative moratorium on offshore oil drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf and Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a proposal President George W. Bush announced last month. Democrats, however, want only two amendments from Republicans: an alternative anti-oil speculation bill and another allowing drilling in the OCS and the government to tap into the oil shales in the Green River Basin of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. They have argued that speculation in energy markets is the root cause of rising oil prices, and that oil companies should first drill on the 68 million acres of land already leased to them. But on Monday Reid offered Republicans four votes to amend his bill: on drilling, oil shales, the building of nuclear plants and another on an alternative Republican bill. "I think we're getting very close to being able to reach an agreement to go forward," Senate Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told the Congressional Quarterly the same day. "This is a significant step in the direction that I had hoped we might take."
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Won’t Pass Won’t pass – Dems Susan Page, USA Today, 8-4-08, “Pelosi firm: No vote on offshore drilling”, http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/ energy/2008-08-03-offshore_N.htm House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday ruled out a vote on new offshore oil drilling even as Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said he might be open to a compromise that included it. The scramble over expanded drilling off America's coasts — ammunition for a weekend of rat-a-tat-tat by the presidential campaigns — underscores the political power of $4-a-gallon gas. Though President Bush and other backers of new drilling acknowledge it wouldn't directly affect gas prices for years, they have pounded Democrats for opposing the measure, which is now supported by most Americans.
Won’t pass – filibuster causing gridlock H. JOSEF HEBERT, AP, 8-2-08, “Bush rips Democrats for opposing offshore drilling”, http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j057jBReERcsF-FcZRSWe0h1gaXQD92A6T382 Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada offered to consider a GOP offshore drilling proposals, but when Republicans demanded votes on a number of other energy proposals, he withdrew his offer. Congress began its annual August recess on Friday without having enacted any substantive responses to public outcries over high gasoline and other energy costs. Reid blamed Republicans, who have filibustered a number of energy measures, for the congressional gridlock.
Elections creating deadlock in Congress over OCS Guardian, 7-30-08, “drilling row trips US House speculation bill”, http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/7690334 With November elections looming and fuel prices surging, Republicans and Democrats are deadlocked in both chambers of Congress over how to address energy issues. Another anti-speculation bill is mired in the Senate in the dispute over drilling in restricted areas. President George W. Bush has urged Congress repeatedly to develop U.S. oil resources. He said there is enough oil in off-shore fields to meet U.S. demand for 10 years. Democrats oppose lifting bans on drilling in the outer continental shelf or the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve. They say the oil industry should use land already available, and they support selling oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
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OCS Bad – Bipart Key Bipart is key – Dems are leveraging procedural rules and GOP is threatening filibuster Michael Coleman, Washington Bureau Albuquerque Journal, 7-31-08, “Senate at Standstill Over Energy Relief ; Deal Doesn't Look Likely As August Break Looms”, http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews+articleid_2459089~title_Senate-atStandstill.html After two weeks of debate, the U.S. Senate still couldn't agree on a bill to combat rising gasoline prices late Wednesday, and the chances of reaching a deal before the August congressional recess appear slim. Proposals to expand offshore oil drilling, boost production of wind and solar power and rein in Wall Street oil speculators remain in jeopardy -- at least until September -- unless Senate Democrats and Republicans reach consensus by Friday. Leaders of both parties have been embroiled in procedural combat on energy issues for days, with Democrats initially refusing to debate a Republican proposal to expand offshore drilling and Republicans threatening to filibuster other energy measures. "They will not allow us to go ahead and consider any other legislation until they get votes on their (offshore drilling) amendments," said Sen. Jeff Bingaman, a New Mexico Democrat who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
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OCS Bad – GOP Key Dems are allowing vote on OCS, but GOP needs to amass support to get adequate numbers Ted Barrett, CNN Congressional Producer, 7-28-08, “Reid putting offshore drilling to a vote”, http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/07/28/reid-putting-offshore-drilling-to-a-vote/ Reid said Democrats would allow votes on GOP amendments that would permit new drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf; the development of oil shale in western states; construction of new nuclear power plants; as well as a vote on broader legislation Republicans have dubbed “drill more, use less,” which includes offshore drilling, conservation initiatives, the development of battery technology, and language to curb speculation in the oil futures market. Reid said Democrats would offer four of their own proposals, but did not specify what those would be. He said all amendments would need 60 votes to pass, a threshold that could make it difficult for any of them to succeed. Republicans, buoyed by recent polls showing a majority of Americans support new offshore drilling, have said they are confident they can get more than 50 senators to support expanded drilling, if not the 60 votes needed to pass.
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OCS Thumper – Pelosi Pelosi will block vote on OCS Susan Page, USA Today, 8-4-08, “Pelosi firm: No vote on offshore drilling”, http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/ energy/2008-08-03-offshore_N.htm Pelosi called proposals to allow more offshore drilling a deceptive "decoy" rather than a solution and indicated she would bar a vote on any bill that included it. "I'm not giving the gavel away to a tactic … that supports the oil (companies), big oil at the cost and the expense of the consumer," she said on ABC's This Week.
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Bush Push Bush is putting political pressure on Congress to pass OCS Molly Murray, writer The News Journal, 8-3-08, “Oil drilling debate back in spotlight”, http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080803/BUSINESS/308030013/1003 Last month, President Bush called on Congress to lift a federal ban on offshore oil drilling, a move that could have far-reaching environmental consequences on coastal states such as Delaware. The ban has been in place since Bush's father signed an executive order in 1990 that barred coastal oil exploration. President Clinton continued the offshore lease prohibition until 2012. A Congressional moratorium, first enacted in 1982, has been renewed every year since. It prohibits oil and gas leasing on most of the outer continental shelf -- an area that includes underwater lands just beyond a state-controlled three-mile limit to federal waters 200 miles off the coast. Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., said rather than opening new areas to drilling, he supports exploration and drilling in areas already licensed, such as the North Slope of Alaska, but not necessarily the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, and in the Gulf of Mexico. Still, he said, "I'm not dismissing anything." The debate grew more political last week when President Bush chided congressional Democrats for failing to vote on a measure to lift a moratorium on offshore drilling before they left for a summer recess.
Bush using public opposition to the energy crisis to pressure Congress on OCS Michael Collins, Ventura County Star, 7-31-08, “Bush ramps up drilling efforts”, http://www.venturacountystar.com/ news/2008/jul/31/bush-ramps-up-drilling-efforts/ The Bush administration ramped up its campaign for more offshore oil and gas production on Wednesday by announcing it is beginning work on a new leasing program that could open the door to drilling in federally protected waters. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said the administration's actions would give the next president a two-year head start in expanding energy production in federal waters, including those where a congressional ban has prevented oil and gas development. Kempthorne acknowledged that drilling could not be permitted in protected waters unless Congress agrees to lift its ban, something congressional Democrats have so far refused to do. But, he said, the nation's energy situation has changed dramatically in the past year, with the price of a barrel of oil doubling and Americans feeling the sting of higher gas prices every time they fill up their tanks. "The American people and the president want action, and this initiative can accelerate an offshore exploration and development program that can increase production from additional domestic energy sources," he said. President Bush has been pushing Congress to open up federal waters to more offshore drilling, arguing that $4-a-gallon gas prices have left the country with no choice but to tap into its domestic resources. Earlier this month, Bush lifted an executive ban put in place by his father, former President George H.W. Bush, to prevent oil and gas drilling in large parts of an area known as the Outer Continental Shelf. The shelf is basically submerged lands, subsoil and seabed that extends about 200 miles off the shores of the east and west coasts, as well as the Gulf of Mexico. The president also has been campaigning for Congress to lift a separate ban on drilling in parts of the Outer Continental Shelf that lawmakers put in place in 1982 and have renewed every year since. I've done my part' "I've done my part," Bush said Wednesday from the Rose Garden. "And that means the only thing now standing between the American people and these vast oil reserves is the United States Congress."
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OCS Solves Case OCS rides on a bill that includes funding and incentives for alternative energy and solves oil dependency Louisiana Daily News, 8-4-08, “US Senate Election, Obama, McCain, Energy Crises”, http://www.bayoubuzz.com/News/Louisiana/Politics/Louisiana_Politics__US_Senate_Election_Obama_McCain_Energy_Crises__69 27.asp The comprehensive New Energy Reform Act of 2008 — known as the “New ERA”— calls for opening as much as 200 million acres of the outer continental shelf to oil and gas leasing as well as a focused effort to transition the nation’s motor vehicles to run on fuels other than gasoline and diesel. To ease gas prices in the interim, the proposal includes an increased domestic production, significant conservation provisions and consumer tax credits. The Senators also welcomed the news that Senate Leadership is adopting the group’s proposal to convene a summit of energy experts to provide advice on securing America’s energy independence. The 10 Senators first proposed the idea of a bipartisan energy summit in a letter to Senate Leadership on June 26. Offshore Drilling and Revenue Sharing The “Gang of 10’s”plan opens the largest new territory in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to oil and gas drilling since Sen. Landrieu opened 8.3 million acres in 2006 as part of the DomeniciLandrieu Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act. Under that bill, 37.5 percent of the revenues are shared with the four states that support the production, Louisiana, Texas Mississippi and Alabama. Revenue sharing in Domenici-Landrieu served as a model for revenue sharing under the “Gang of 10” plan. The “New ERA” plan opens 38 million acres of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico and allows states on the Southeast Atlantic Coast to pursue energy exploration, excluding a 50-mile coastal buffer. These areas will be eligible for revenue sharing similar to that created by the Domenici-Landrieu plan. The states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia will be allowed to opt into drilling off of their Atlantic coasts and receive 37.5 percent of revenues for drilling within 100 miles of their shores. If two or more neighboring states opt in, they would get 50 percent. The plan potentially opens as much as 165 million acres to energy exploration along the U.S. Atlantic coast. The Minerals Management Service (MMS) estimates these areas in the Gulf and Atlantic could contain as much as 14 billion barrels of oil, which could fuel 8 million cars for 60 years and heat 400,000 households for 60 years. In addition to oil, MMS estimates these regions could contain more than 80 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, which is enough to heat 15 million households for 85 years. The plan will also fund the first ever state-of-the-art seismic inventory of offshore areas currently off-limits to production, and creates a non-partisan commission to make recommendations to Congress on future areas that should be opened for production. The bipartisan compromise includes a significant investment in alternative fuels, dedicating at least $20 billion to push 85 percent of America’s motor vehicles to non-petroleum-based fuels within 20 years. To accelerate the transition, the plan calls for research and development funding, help for U.S. automakers to make the transition, and tax credits to incentivize the purchase of alternative fuel vehicles as well as to retrofit existing vehicles. The bipartisan compromise also includes a conservation and efficiency component that includes tax incentives for consumers, including extending and expanding the $2,500 tax credit to purchase a hybrid vehicles, and for the building of infrastructure to support alternative fuels. A nonpartisan group of business and former military leaders, Securing America’s Energy Future, said the following about the “Gang of 10” plan: “The importance of this proposal cannot be overstated. It represents a true bipartisan compromise and a workable national strategy for eliminating the profound risks of U.S. oil dependence for future generations.”
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A2 Out of Session GOP still working on OCS despite recess Frank James, Tribune Washington Bureau, 8-4-08, “House GOP's oil-drilling protest resumes”, http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/08/house_gops_drilling_protest_to.html Scores of Republican House members will return to the Hill today, despite Congress being on recess, to engage in legislative guerrilla tactics meant to turn the screws on Speaker Nancy Pelosi who has so far refused to allow a vote on domestic oil drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf and the Arctic Natural Wildlife Refuge. Republicans took to the House floor on Friday to protest against Pelosi even though the Speaker made sure to turn the cameras and most of the lights off. Their specific complaint was that Pelosi allowed the House to recess without allowing the House to vote on energy legislation.
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Natural Gas N/U Increased natural gas production on government land is causing prices to drop now Felicity Barringer, 8-4-08, “High Oil Prices Renew the Push to Drill on U.S.-Owned Lands But Onshore Government Sites Mostly Produce Natural Gas”, http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1508389/high_oil_prices_renew_the_push_to_ drill_on_usowned/ With the advent of $4-a-gallon gasoline in the United States has come a bruising debate in Congress over whether to intensify efforts to drill on government lands, including part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. But while those hoping to lower prices at the pump are clamoring for new oil, most of the new onshore drilling of the past seven years has produced natural gas, not oil. The Bush administration, in its effort to expand energy production, has issued more than three times the number of well- drilling permits on Western lands as in the Clinton administration's last six years. But oil production in that region during the Bush years is 12 percent below average levels from the Clinton era, according to government data. Oil production declined over all to an average of 97.9 million barrels annually from 2001 through 2006, compared with average levels of 111.5 million barrels during the Clinton administration. Drilling in the West is more likely to provide natural gas. Natural gas production has increased by 34 percent during President George W. Bush's term in office, compared with the annual production levels during Bill Clinton's terms. On U.S. land in the West, average natural gas production during the first six years of this presidency was 2.4 billion cubic feet, or 68 million cubic meters, annually, up from 1.8 billion cubic feet, on average, during the previous eight years. The wellhead price of natural gas is about five times higher than it was in the 1990s. The increased production of natural gas from government-owned land, in general, puts downward pressure on natural gas prices because the North American gas market is largely isolated from the larger world market. New oil production usually does not depress prices locally, since oil is shipped by tanker in a worldwide market. The Energy Task Force convened by Vice President Dick Cheney in 2001 called for expanded production on U.S. lands and offshore; these figures, drawn from the data of the Minerals Management Service and analyzed by the Environmental Working Group, a research and advocacy organization based in Washington, give a partial sense of how the task force's priorities have been carried out, and to what effect. "You have to start with the recognition that most wells drilled in the Rockies are not oil wells - they are gas wells," said Porter Bennett, the president and chief executive of Bentek Energy, one of the industry's largest research firms. "There would never be an expectation of huge returns on the oil side," he added.
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OCS Updates OCS Updates..........................................................................................................................................................1 Will Pass..................................................................................................................................................................2 Will Pass..................................................................................................................................................................3 Won’t Pass..............................................................................................................................................................4 OCS Bad – Bipart Key..........................................................................................................................................5 OCS Bad – GOP Key.............................................................................................................................................6 OCS Thumper – Pelosi..........................................................................................................................................7 Bush Push...............................................................................................................................................................8 OCS Solves Case....................................................................................................................................................9 A2 Out of Session.................................................................................................................................................10 Natural Gas N/U...................................................................................................................................................11
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Will Pass New bipart legislation is forging compromise on OCS Marine Log, 8-3-08, “Gang of Ten could get offshore drilling ban eased”, http://www.marinelog.com/DOCS/ NEWSMMVII/2008aug00030.html A bipartisan coalition of senators led by Senator Kent Conrad (D-N.D.)--instantly tagged "The Gang of Ten"--has unveiled the "New Energy Reform Act of 2008." It's aimed at laying the groundwork to transition America's motor vehicle fleets to fuels other than gasoline and diesel. To ease gas prices in the interim, the proposal includes significant conservation provisions, consumer tax credits, and responsible measures to increase domestic production--including opening up new areas for offshore oil drilling. Senator Conrad says he believes the group's compromise energy plan "will generate a groundswell of support among the American people as well as his colleagues in Congress and lead to the development of comprehensive legislation to tackle the nation's energy crisis." A sign that the proposal might just overcome the partisan split on the issue is that presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama has said that he welcomes the bipartisan effort as "an important step in the process of reducing our dangerous dependence on foreign oil." "Like all compromises, it also includes steps that I haven't always supported. I remain skeptical that new offshore drilling will bring down gas prices in the short-term or significantly reduce our oil dependence in the long-term, though I do welcome the establishment of a process that will allow us to make future drilling decisions based on science and fact," he commented. "I've always believed that finding consensus will be essential to solving our energy crisis, and today's package represents a good faith effort at a new bipartisan beginning," he said.
Will pass – bipart support George Stephanopoulos, Transcript – Interview w/ House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 8-3-08, “Stephanopoulos to Pelosi: Why No Up or Down Vote on Drilling?”, http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2008/08/03/stephanopoulos-pelosi-why-no-or-down-votedrilling Except it’s not just Republicans that are calling for this. Members of your own caucus say we must have a vote. Congressman Jason Altmire, let me show our viewers right now, says, “There is going to be a vote. September 30 will not come and go without a vote on the opening the Outer Continental Shelf. The message has been delivered. The issue can't be ignored any longer.” He says he speaks for a lot of Democrats. He's talked to the leadership and a vote must happen.
Will pass – GOP is generating momentum Frank James, Tribune Washington Bureau, 8-4-08, “House GOP's oil-drilling protest resumes”, http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/08/house_gops_drilling_protest_to.html Scores of Republican House members will return to the Hill today, despite Congress being on recess, to engage in legislative guerrilla tactics meant to turn the screws on Speaker Nancy Pelosi who has so far refused to allow a vote on domestic oil drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf and the Arctic Natural Wildlife Refuge. Republicans took to the House floor on Friday to protest against Pelosi even though the Speaker made sure to turn the cameras and most of the lights off. Their specific complaint was that Pelosi allowed the House to recess without allowing the House to vote on energy legislation. It was raucous political theater reminiscent of what Republicans did when they were last in the minority in the early 1990s. With a majority of the public now saying it favors increased domestic drilling for oil, the House GOP finally feels the wind at its back on an issue. It isn't about to let up on Pelosi, whose opposition to a floor vote on drilling is getting increasingly unpopular with voters. Even Sen. Barack Obama, the all-but-official Democratic nominee, moved away from Pelosi's position last week, a sure sign that the limb Pelosi is on is being sawed away by no less than the leader of her party.
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Will Pass Will pass – Dem leadership reaching out to GOP Kris Alingod, AHN News Writer, 7-29-08 “Reid Ends Statemate; Offers Republicans A Vote On Offshore Drilling”, http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7011765886 Seeking to end the deadlock on a crucial energy bill, Senate Majority Harry Reid (D-NV) offered Republicans on Monday a vote on offshore drilling despite previous statements that he would never allow legislation expanding coastal oil exploration to reach the floor. Senators voted to 94-0 early last week to advance Reid's bill requiring the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to curb excessive speculation in energy markets. Under the bill, traders would have to provide more information about over-the-counter transactions. The measure also adds restrictions to U.S.-based traders on foreign exchanges. Republicans have been demanding that they be allowed full debate on the measure and to offer provisions lifting a legislative moratorium on offshore oil drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf and Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a proposal President George W. Bush announced last month. Democrats, however, want only two amendments from Republicans: an alternative anti-oil speculation bill and another allowing drilling in the OCS and the government to tap into the oil shales in the Green River Basin of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. They have argued that speculation in energy markets is the root cause of rising oil prices, and that oil companies should first drill on the 68 million acres of land already leased to them. But on Monday Reid offered Republicans four votes to amend his bill: on drilling, oil shales, the building of nuclear plants and another on an alternative Republican bill. "I think we're getting very close to being able to reach an agreement to go forward," Senate Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told the Congressional Quarterly the same day. "This is a significant step in the direction that I had hoped we might take."
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Won’t Pass Won’t pass – Dems Susan Page, USA Today, 8-4-08, “Pelosi firm: No vote on offshore drilling”, http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/ energy/2008-08-03-offshore_N.htm House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday ruled out a vote on new offshore oil drilling even as Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said he might be open to a compromise that included it. The scramble over expanded drilling off America's coasts — ammunition for a weekend of rat-a-tat-tat by the presidential campaigns — underscores the political power of $4-a-gallon gas. Though President Bush and other backers of new drilling acknowledge it wouldn't directly affect gas prices for years, they have pounded Democrats for opposing the measure, which is now supported by most Americans.
Won’t pass – filibuster causing gridlock H. JOSEF HEBERT, AP, 8-2-08, “Bush rips Democrats for opposing offshore drilling”, http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j057jBReERcsF-FcZRSWe0h1gaXQD92A6T382 Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada offered to consider a GOP offshore drilling proposals, but when Republicans demanded votes on a number of other energy proposals, he withdrew his offer. Congress began its annual August recess on Friday without having enacted any substantive responses to public outcries over high gasoline and other energy costs. Reid blamed Republicans, who have filibustered a number of energy measures, for the congressional gridlock.
Elections creating deadlock in Congress over OCS Guardian, 7-30-08, “drilling row trips US House speculation bill”, http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/7690334 With November elections looming and fuel prices surging, Republicans and Democrats are deadlocked in both chambers of Congress over how to address energy issues. Another anti-speculation bill is mired in the Senate in the dispute over drilling in restricted areas. President George W. Bush has urged Congress repeatedly to develop U.S. oil resources. He said there is enough oil in off-shore fields to meet U.S. demand for 10 years. Democrats oppose lifting bans on drilling in the outer continental shelf or the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve. They say the oil industry should use land already available, and they support selling oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
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OCS Bad – Bipart Key Bipart is key – Dems are leveraging procedural rules and GOP is threatening filibuster Michael Coleman, Washington Bureau Albuquerque Journal, 7-31-08, “Senate at Standstill Over Energy Relief ; Deal Doesn't Look Likely As August Break Looms”, http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews+articleid_2459089~title_Senate-atStandstill.html After two weeks of debate, the U.S. Senate still couldn't agree on a bill to combat rising gasoline prices late Wednesday, and the chances of reaching a deal before the August congressional recess appear slim. Proposals to expand offshore oil drilling, boost production of wind and solar power and rein in Wall Street oil speculators remain in jeopardy -- at least until September -- unless Senate Democrats and Republicans reach consensus by Friday. Leaders of both parties have been embroiled in procedural combat on energy issues for days, with Democrats initially refusing to debate a Republican proposal to expand offshore drilling and Republicans threatening to filibuster other energy measures. "They will not allow us to go ahead and consider any other legislation until they get votes on their (offshore drilling) amendments," said Sen. Jeff Bingaman, a New Mexico Democrat who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
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OCS Bad – GOP Key Dems are allowing vote on OCS, but GOP needs to amass support to get adequate numbers Ted Barrett, CNN Congressional Producer, 7-28-08, “Reid putting offshore drilling to a vote”, http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/07/28/reid-putting-offshore-drilling-to-a-vote/ Reid said Democrats would allow votes on GOP amendments that would permit new drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf; the development of oil shale in western states; construction of new nuclear power plants; as well as a vote on broader legislation Republicans have dubbed “drill more, use less,” which includes offshore drilling, conservation initiatives, the development of battery technology, and language to curb speculation in the oil futures market. Reid said Democrats would offer four of their own proposals, but did not specify what those would be. He said all amendments would need 60 votes to pass, a threshold that could make it difficult for any of them to succeed. Republicans, buoyed by recent polls showing a majority of Americans support new offshore drilling, have said they are confident they can get more than 50 senators to support expanded drilling, if not the 60 votes needed to pass.
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OCS Thumper – Pelosi Pelosi will block vote on OCS Susan Page, USA Today, 8-4-08, “Pelosi firm: No vote on offshore drilling”, http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/ energy/2008-08-03-offshore_N.htm Pelosi called proposals to allow more offshore drilling a deceptive "decoy" rather than a solution and indicated she would bar a vote on any bill that included it. "I'm not giving the gavel away to a tactic … that supports the oil (companies), big oil at the cost and the expense of the consumer," she said on ABC's This Week.
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Bush Push Bush is putting political pressure on Congress to pass OCS Molly Murray, writer The News Journal, 8-3-08, “Oil drilling debate back in spotlight”, http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080803/BUSINESS/308030013/1003 Last month, President Bush called on Congress to lift a federal ban on offshore oil drilling, a move that could have far-reaching environmental consequences on coastal states such as Delaware. The ban has been in place since Bush's father signed an executive order in 1990 that barred coastal oil exploration. President Clinton continued the offshore lease prohibition until 2012. A Congressional moratorium, first enacted in 1982, has been renewed every year since. It prohibits oil and gas leasing on most of the outer continental shelf -- an area that includes underwater lands just beyond a state-controlled three-mile limit to federal waters 200 miles off the coast. Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del., said rather than opening new areas to drilling, he supports exploration and drilling in areas already licensed, such as the North Slope of Alaska, but not necessarily the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve, and in the Gulf of Mexico. Still, he said, "I'm not dismissing anything." The debate grew more political last week when President Bush chided congressional Democrats for failing to vote on a measure to lift a moratorium on offshore drilling before they left for a summer recess.
Bush using public opposition to the energy crisis to pressure Congress on OCS Michael Collins, Ventura County Star, 7-31-08, “Bush ramps up drilling efforts”, http://www.venturacountystar.com/ news/2008/jul/31/bush-ramps-up-drilling-efforts/ The Bush administration ramped up its campaign for more offshore oil and gas production on Wednesday by announcing it is beginning work on a new leasing program that could open the door to drilling in federally protected waters. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne said the administration's actions would give the next president a two-year head start in expanding energy production in federal waters, including those where a congressional ban has prevented oil and gas development. Kempthorne acknowledged that drilling could not be permitted in protected waters unless Congress agrees to lift its ban, something congressional Democrats have so far refused to do. But, he said, the nation's energy situation has changed dramatically in the past year, with the price of a barrel of oil doubling and Americans feeling the sting of higher gas prices every time they fill up their tanks. "The American people and the president want action, and this initiative can accelerate an offshore exploration and development program that can increase production from additional domestic energy sources," he said. President Bush has been pushing Congress to open up federal waters to more offshore drilling, arguing that $4-a-gallon gas prices have left the country with no choice but to tap into its domestic resources. Earlier this month, Bush lifted an executive ban put in place by his father, former President George H.W. Bush, to prevent oil and gas drilling in large parts of an area known as the Outer Continental Shelf. The shelf is basically submerged lands, subsoil and seabed that extends about 200 miles off the shores of the east and west coasts, as well as the Gulf of Mexico. The president also has been campaigning for Congress to lift a separate ban on drilling in parts of the Outer Continental Shelf that lawmakers put in place in 1982 and have renewed every year since. I've done my part' "I've done my part," Bush said Wednesday from the Rose Garden. "And that means the only thing now standing between the American people and these vast oil reserves is the United States Congress."
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OCS Updates DDI 2008
OCS Solves Case OCS rides on a bill that includes funding and incentives for alternative energy and solves oil dependency Louisiana Daily News, 8-4-08, “US Senate Election, Obama, McCain, Energy Crises”, http://www.bayoubuzz.com/News/Louisiana/Politics/Louisiana_Politics__US_Senate_Election_Obama_McCain_Energy_Crises__69 27.asp The comprehensive New Energy Reform Act of 2008 — known as the “New ERA”— calls for opening as much as 200 million acres of the outer continental shelf to oil and gas leasing as well as a focused effort to transition the nation’s motor vehicles to run on fuels other than gasoline and diesel. To ease gas prices in the interim, the proposal includes an increased domestic production, significant conservation provisions and consumer tax credits. The Senators also welcomed the news that Senate Leadership is adopting the group’s proposal to convene a summit of energy experts to provide advice on securing America’s energy independence. The 10 Senators first proposed the idea of a bipartisan energy summit in a letter to Senate Leadership on June 26. Offshore Drilling and Revenue Sharing The “Gang of 10’s”plan opens the largest new territory in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to oil and gas drilling since Sen. Landrieu opened 8.3 million acres in 2006 as part of the DomeniciLandrieu Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act. Under that bill, 37.5 percent of the revenues are shared with the four states that support the production, Louisiana, Texas Mississippi and Alabama. Revenue sharing in Domenici-Landrieu served as a model for revenue sharing under the “Gang of 10” plan. The “New ERA” plan opens 38 million acres of the Eastern Gulf of Mexico and allows states on the Southeast Atlantic Coast to pursue energy exploration, excluding a 50-mile coastal buffer. These areas will be eligible for revenue sharing similar to that created by the Domenici-Landrieu plan. The states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia will be allowed to opt into drilling off of their Atlantic coasts and receive 37.5 percent of revenues for drilling within 100 miles of their shores. If two or more neighboring states opt in, they would get 50 percent. The plan potentially opens as much as 165 million acres to energy exploration along the U.S. Atlantic coast. The Minerals Management Service (MMS) estimates these areas in the Gulf and Atlantic could contain as much as 14 billion barrels of oil, which could fuel 8 million cars for 60 years and heat 400,000 households for 60 years. In addition to oil, MMS estimates these regions could contain more than 80 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, which is enough to heat 15 million households for 85 years. The plan will also fund the first ever state-of-the-art seismic inventory of offshore areas currently off-limits to production, and creates a non-partisan commission to make recommendations to Congress on future areas that should be opened for production. The bipartisan compromise includes a significant investment in alternative fuels, dedicating at least $20 billion to push 85 percent of America’s motor vehicles to non-petroleum-based fuels within 20 years. To accelerate the transition, the plan calls for research and development funding, help for U.S. automakers to make the transition, and tax credits to incentivize the purchase of alternative fuel vehicles as well as to retrofit existing vehicles. The bipartisan compromise also includes a conservation and efficiency component that includes tax incentives for consumers, including extending and expanding the $2,500 tax credit to purchase a hybrid vehicles, and for the building of infrastructure to support alternative fuels. A nonpartisan group of business and former military leaders, Securing America’s Energy Future, said the following about the “Gang of 10” plan: “The importance of this proposal cannot be overstated. It represents a true bipartisan compromise and a workable national strategy for eliminating the profound risks of U.S. oil dependence for future generations.”
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A2 Out of Session GOP still working on OCS despite recess Frank James, Tribune Washington Bureau, 8-4-08, “House GOP's oil-drilling protest resumes”, http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2008/08/house_gops_drilling_protest_to.html Scores of Republican House members will return to the Hill today, despite Congress being on recess, to engage in legislative guerrilla tactics meant to turn the screws on Speaker Nancy Pelosi who has so far refused to allow a vote on domestic oil drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf and the Arctic Natural Wildlife Refuge. Republicans took to the House floor on Friday to protest against Pelosi even though the Speaker made sure to turn the cameras and most of the lights off. Their specific complaint was that Pelosi allowed the House to recess without allowing the House to vote on energy legislation.
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Natural Gas N/U Increased natural gas production on government land is causing prices to drop now Felicity Barringer, 8-4-08, “High Oil Prices Renew the Push to Drill on U.S.-Owned Lands But Onshore Government Sites Mostly Produce Natural Gas”, http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1508389/high_oil_prices_renew_the_push_to_ drill_on_usowned/ With the advent of $4-a-gallon gasoline in the United States has come a bruising debate in Congress over whether to intensify efforts to drill on government lands, including part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. But while those hoping to lower prices at the pump are clamoring for new oil, most of the new onshore drilling of the past seven years has produced natural gas, not oil. The Bush administration, in its effort to expand energy production, has issued more than three times the number of well- drilling permits on Western lands as in the Clinton administration's last six years. But oil production in that region during the Bush years is 12 percent below average levels from the Clinton era, according to government data. Oil production declined over all to an average of 97.9 million barrels annually from 2001 through 2006, compared with average levels of 111.5 million barrels during the Clinton administration. Drilling in the West is more likely to provide natural gas. Natural gas production has increased by 34 percent during President George W. Bush's term in office, compared with the annual production levels during Bill Clinton's terms. On U.S. land in the West, average natural gas production during the first six years of this presidency was 2.4 billion cubic feet, or 68 million cubic meters, annually, up from 1.8 billion cubic feet, on average, during the previous eight years. The wellhead price of natural gas is about five times higher than it was in the 1990s. The increased production of natural gas from government-owned land, in general, puts downward pressure on natural gas prices because the North American gas market is largely isolated from the larger world market. New oil production usually does not depress prices locally, since oil is shipped by tanker in a worldwide market. The Energy Task Force convened by Vice President Dick Cheney in 2001 called for expanded production on U.S. lands and offshore; these figures, drawn from the data of the Minerals Management Service and analyzed by the Environmental Working Group, a research and advocacy organization based in Washington, give a partial sense of how the task force's priorities have been carried out, and to what effect. "You have to start with the recognition that most wells drilled in the Rockies are not oil wells - they are gas wells," said Porter Bennett, the president and chief executive of Bentek Energy, one of the industry's largest research firms. "There would never be an expectation of huge returns on the oil side," he added.
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