Left to right: Chief of Staff Josh Bolten, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, Transportation Secretary Mary Peters, OMB Director Jim Nussle, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman and Attorney General Michael Mukasey.
President Bush: Bringing OCS resources online is going to take time -- and that means that the need for congressional action is urgent. So I've lifted the executive restrictions on offshore exploration.I've done my part. And that means the only thing now standing between the American people and these vast oil resources is the United States Congress.
The sooner Congress lifts the ban, the sooner we can get this oil from the ocean floor to your gas tank.
Some members of Congress say they object to exploration of the OCS, but they are in favor of other actions -- such as taking oil out of the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Well, if you agree that we need more oil, it makes no sense to say you're for draining our nation's limited Strategic Reserve, but against tapping into the vast resources of the Outer Continental Shelf.