by Richard Morrison
September 11, 2008

Washington, D.C., September 11, 2008—House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), after months of stalling and opposition, has agreed to hold a vote on whether to allow somewhat more offshore oil and gas exploration. Despite this apparent progress, however, the House Democratic Leadership’s energy legislation is still a sham designed to fool the public.

“Speaker Pelosi’s opposition to offshore drilling has been clear and consistent. Only the overwhelming nationwide support for increased domestic oil and natural gas production has forced her to give a little ground,” said Competitive Enterprise Institute Director of Energy Policy Myron Ebell. “However, the package that the House Democratic Leadership has put together would only result in a little more offshore drilling, whereas the other provisions would discourage investment in domestic oil production by raising taxes and provide billions of dollars of subsidies to special interests.”

Recent polls have found that as many as 74% of Americans now support lifting the federal restrictions on offshore drilling. The Competitive Enterprise Institute has long been an advocate of opening more of the nation’s domestic energy resources to exploration and production, to benefit both consumers and business owners hit by high energy prices.

“The House should recognize the Pelosi plan for the sham that it is,” Ebell continued.  “House Members should instead demand an up or down vote on lifting the moratorium on offshore drilling.”

 

Energy Experts Available for Interviews
Myron Ebell Director of Energy Policy 202-331-2256 mebell@cei.org	William Yeatman Energy Policy Analyst 202-331-2270 wyeatman@cei.org

CEI is a non-profit, non-partisan public policy group dedicated to the principles of free enterprise and limited government.  For more information about CEI, please visit our website at www.cei.org.