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Richard Morrison, 202.331.2273

Washington, D.C., July 25, 2006— The Senate is going to consider a bill this week, S. 3711, which is called the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, but which would actually reduce the availability of domestic energy sources. Proponents have represented the bill as part of the answer to increasing domestic energy production, but in its current form it is actually part of the problem.

The bill would only open up one area along the Gulf of Mexico’s outer continental shelf (“Lease Sale 181”), which is currently under a moratorium.  But that moratorium is scheduled to expire in 2007 without any further congressional action. S. 3711 would additional restrictions on oil and natural gas production in Lease Sale 181. The net result of enactment would be a smaller offshore area open to energy production than if the Senate were to do nothing at all.  

“The Senate OCS bill pretends to do something about increasing oil and gas production in this country, but passing it will in fact be an obstacle to doing something real about high gas prices,” said Competitive Enterprise Institute Director of Energy Policy Myron Ebell. “If the Senate was really interested in helping provide affordable energy for American consumers, they would follow the lead of the House and allow coastal states to allow oil and gas exploration along the entire outer continental shelf.”

“As for the concerns of the Senators from Florida, they were already addressed in the bill passed by the House, H.R. 4761, which is why 14 of Florida’s 25 House members voted for it. The Senate should pass either the House bill or Senator Warner’s bill, S. 2290,” Ebell concluded.