Posted on 09/15/2008 5:09:59 PM PDT by Sub-Driver
Fox News: Experts Say About 80 to 88 Percent of All of the Oil Offshore Is Off-Limits Under Dems' "No Energy" Legislation "Drill-Nothing" Democratic Majority Readies Legislation Loaded with Poison Pills Aimed to Kill New American Energy Production
Washington, Sep 15 - House Democrats are scrambling to complete their latest “no energy” bill, which is expected to make its way to the House floor later this week. The problem for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is that the longer it takes for the bill to be introduced, the more the American people are learning about the Majority’s bogus “drilling” legislation that fails to lower gas prices for working families, small businesses, seniors, and schools. And that’s not good news for the Speaker or rank-and-file Democrats who hope to mislead their constituents back home that they are actually poised to vote for a “pro-energy” bill.
Reports already indicate that the Democrats’ “no energy” bill will not include critical revenue-sharing between the federal government and coastal states – a poison pill that will lead states to block energy production off of their coasts and effectively kill any new “drilling” under the bill. On the heels of these reports, Fox News reporter William La Jeunesse noted this afternoon that the faux “drilling” language in the Democrats’ bill actually blocks energy production in some of the most oil- and gas-rich locations off our nation’s coasts. In total, Speaker Pelosi’s latest proposal permanently locks away an incredible 88 percent of the best American oil resources on the Outer Continental Shelf. A transcript and full video of the Fox News report follows:
Click HERE for Video
MARTHA MCCALLUM: Offshore drilling of course, is a hot topic on the campaign trail and on Capitol Hill. This is something a lot of Americans are passionate about. You remember the big oil spill off of the coast of Santa Barbara in 1969 but now a lot of Californians are actually rallying to end the ban on drilling if you can believe that. The Santa Barbara Board of Supervisors making a move to support drilling again 100 miles off of their coast. But will it ever happen? William La Jeunesse is live from beautiful Santa Barbara, California today. William, are Californians coming around to the idea of drilling off the shores of their home state?
WILLIAM LA JEUNESSE: Well, California is very symbolic of the U.S. as a whole. We use more oil here than anyone other than the United States and China. Now you can see right out here we’ve got vast reserves in the Pacific. There’s a straw right there. There is more oil between Santa Barbara and San Diego than the Eastern Seaboard or the Eastern Gulf. Now as you said, we came to Santa Barbara for a very good reason because this is the birthplace of the ban on offshore drilling and yet as you said, the board of supervisors is reconsidering after that devastating spill in ‘69. This would be like the people of Chernobyl voting for nuclear power. Now, I’m going to take you into the truck real quickly, to give you a look at the national picture Martha and what is happening tomorrow in Congress. This is a look right now, at oil resources in the United States offshore. About 3.8 billion barrels off of the Eastern Seaboard, about 3.7 off the Eastern Gulf, and about 11 billion off the Pacific Coast. Now, this is important because this is what they’re going to be talking about. That is California right there. Currently, the state limit is about 3 miles so if they lifted the ban entirely they could go after this oil. They are talking about putting the limit at 50 miles. Now the state legislature could go from 50 to 100 miles if they want. That’s not going to happen in California. You’d have drilling off 100 miles, but all the oil is right here, and that is why experts say about 80 to 88 percent of all of the oil in the country is off-limits under the two bills being considered in Congress.
This is important as well because this deals with facts versus fear. The oil industry, according to government statistics, in the last 15 years, has produced about 156,000 barrel of oil and for every one of those, we lost one barrel. That is literally a drop in the bucket. That is a debate that is going to begin tomorrow in Congress probably for a good two weeks about whether the U.S. should lift this ban. Energy critics say this is an energy bill in name only, that it is not going to deliver the oil that consumers say that they want. Back to you.
MCCALLUM: What a great report, William. That has made things so clear. Wasn’t it though? This is the kind of debate and people say we need to drill off of our shores and I think a lot of people think that is a good idea but then you get into this Congressional debate and things get stymied, so we’re going to end up with an agreement perhaps that allows us only to drill in areas where the oil is not.
TRACE GALLAGHER: And what William has reported on before which he left out of this is the fact that he said one barrel of oil spilled. More oil seeps through the ground off the coast of California than is ever spilled out there so you’re going to have much more environmental damage. William, am I right here? You’re still on camera. Much more oil seeps through the ground than is ever spilled?
LA JEUNESSE: That’s right Trace. About 60 percent of all of the oil in the marine environment has come there natural from seepage. And then followed by consumers in runoff from urban areas. The amount of oil that comes out of platform and drilling is less than three percent. A much bigger risk and environmentalists admit this are tankers. So you have 2,000 tankers going around the world and that is why it is more dangerous than simply tapping it using offshore drilling but this is just one of those bellwether issues that environmentalists are banking on because they fear if we have more oil, that makes alternative energy technically more expensive and only prolongs the period we are on fossil fuels and that is the much bigger debate that is going on in Congress. Kind of the story behind the story. Why we may have an energy bill with no energy.
MCCALLUM: No, it’s a great story and just one last thought on it. There is all of this pressure about the oil companies and oh they make so much money. Oil companies have spent a tremendous amount of money researching and making this process as clean as possible and they have done a pretty good job of it when you look at the numbers of what actually gets spilled out there, it’s extremely minimal. So, something everyone needs to know to get the full picture.
GALLAGHER: And that was pretty much the full picture.
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That sums it up...........
How long until the current ban expires? Time to lock it up boys, “shut ‘er down, Clancy.”
OCT 1
I submit that in all likelihood there are some high profile Dems (and maybe some Republicans) that don’t want to drill because they are heavily invested in oil/gas or in the substitutes thereof. In other words if the demand is high, the supply is low—so the price is high and they make a tidy, little sum for their already substantial nest eggs.
I say follow the money.
“OCT 1”
Yes, let the current law expire.
It is rather interesting. If the vast majority of the oil is within 10 miles of the coast, why would they only allow drilling past 100 miles? So they can say the republican plan for drilling was a failure, and the Dems can keep those oil stock options going. It seems pretty obvious to me, that as long as we are stuck on Foreign Oil Dependency, some one, like Pelosi, must be getting rich off it
There are a lot of energy opportunities that will go along way in helping rebuild the economy and the Congress will allow any of it to happen. It is going to take a depression and a lot of civil unrest before things get better.
Do Nothing Nancy offers her Permanent Drilling Ban, Drilling Bill for all the suckers.
If you like $4/gal, Thank Congress. If you want $10, Vote Obama.
Pray for W, McCuda and Our troops
Attention Republican Party leaders...
A National Plan to Drill Drill Drill, with 3-5 points on a National Advertising Campaign will help you increase House and Senate seat pickups.
Sort of like a Contract for America.
“American Energy for America”
I believe that Ms. Pelosi has a stake in T-Bone's venture.
TA - DA!
15 days it expires. Haahaaaahaaa..
Keep up the good work Pelosi, your helping your candidate NOT get elected!
There’s a rumor that McCain is in support of this “Gang of 10” compromise. I hope not. It’ll deflate most of the air and ammo from his campaign. I think he should be running against most of Congress along w/Obama.
The current ban on drilling on the Continental Shelf expires on Oct 1, 2008. Let it expire and drill, drill, drill.
Are you sure about that date? The FoxNews showed that the oil is about 50 miles offshore in California, but closer to shoreline on east coast. The dems are trying to push approval at 100 miles out, where no oil is noted.
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