Posted on 09/12/2008 10:29:58 PM PDT by fightinJAG
Even as House Democratic leaders handed Republicans a symbolic victory this week in their long fight for new offshore oil development, critics charged that the fine print in the plan probably will continue to keep drillers out of the Atlantic.
While lifting a 25-year federal ban on most offshore oil and natural gas drilling, the legislation would block Virginia and other coastal states from sharing in a $2.6 trillion bonanza of tax revenue expected to flow from offshore fields. A Senate bill still in the works would give states part of the money.
Unless states stand to profit from offshore development, they almost surely would exercise their right under the bill to block any drilling within 100 miles of their shores, critics of the House initiative charged.
"With no financial incentive, no state will choose to 'opt in,' " House Republican leader John A. Boehner of Ohio told reporters, "and this bill will result in little or no new American energy production."
Rep. Thelma Drake, a Norfolk Republican who has taken a prominent role among pro-drilling forces, was even more critical.
The new bill "appears to be little more than a political ploy," Drake charged in a prepared statement. Democrats intend to "tell the American people that they voted to go after more American energy while winking to the environmentalists to say that this increased production will never happen," she said.
(Excerpt) Read more at hamptonroads.com ...
more stupid games. these jackasses have got to go.
2 years they’ve done nothing about drilling now they want to pretend less than 2 month from an election?
Do they think this bs gimmick will work?
Each Alaskan got over $2,000 this year in oil royalties. Man, woman, child. Even Democrats. Amazing, isn’t it? I think Democrats should be forced to give up their share.
The Democrat Mafia would no way give that up to us peons in the states. They want to keep it for themselves to skim off the top, pay for their pet projects (such as the Garage to Nowhere) and then refill union and Democrat coffers.
The more oil there is the market, the cheaper oil is. Plus you aren’t dealing with the crooked OPEC.
Contact your Congress critters to let them know that you are tired of high gas prices.
U. S. House of Representatives
And un-elect all the dimocrats who will not support drilling EVERYWHERE!
Why?... Because democoRATS see the US as their tax base. There are no states, just the federal coffers. Why else woul dthey play the ‘general fund’ shuffle while continuing to pretend they are wanting to raise social security withholding? It all goes into democrat spending for ‘other’.
Do Nothing Nancy’s Drilling Bill is a permanent ban on drilling. What’s New?
The only question is if the Repubs are this stupid?
Pray for W, Mccuda and Our Troops
The Demos sure don’t mind drilling the taxpayer do they?
The picture may not be as gloomy as it appears, and if the Dems hope to stop the states they may not succeed if the following quote makes sense:
“Wagner, the state’s most vocal advocate for drilling, said Thursday that offshore oil would be a boon to Virginia even if the state is cut out of the royalties. Building the infrastructure ashore needed to support drilling at sea would create thousands of new jobs for Virginians and add valuable properties to local tax rolls, Wagner said.”
In June 2006, I traveled along the Gulf coast from Tampa all the way to New Orleans. In Mississippi, I stopped at a small but busy shipyard and spoke to the management. They said they were building several new ships to service the oil platforms that had been damaged the previous year. Their business was booming, because all the platforms had to pass a safety inspection for which there were not enough appropriate vessels.
What do you think the founding fathers would say today about the federal government?
That it is completely out of bounds, ignoring the ten Amendment of the Bill of Rights. Need you ask?
They are blocking the states from getting the revenues because they know that will keep them from drilling in the first place.
So they can pretend to be for drilling, all the while sabotaging any real prospect of a state drilling.
If we play our cards right we may take back congress this year.
At least the House is fighting for something.
The bill is designed to give the democrats political "cover" for this upcoming race. That is all. It IS NOT and WILL NOT provide one drop of oil.
It will allow the democrats to vote "for" extensive drilling while not allow ANY drilling at all. It will be placed before the house before any expiration of any ban now in effect. It will pass by a wide margin (and show the voting public how much the Dems really care about drilling!) and go to the Senate where no amendments will be allowed by Reid. Should it be held up by some Senator (which is very likely), Reid will simply call for the existing ban now in effect be added as a part of a budget CR which must be passed before 1 Oct.
The rats get to claim how much they wanted to drill for more oil and give the states such large quantities of money "for the children" but the nasty Republicans have stalled the bill. The "drilling bill" will simply die until maybe it is raised again next year and the Dems hope to have a "friendly" POTUS to deal with.
Pull up NumbersUSA on the Internet. It’s the most efficient and to the point way of letting your reps in Washington know your feelings. You will be notified daily of fax, telephone, meetings information and you can personalize your message. Roy Beck does a very fine job flooding the hill switchboards, fax machines and email mill.
“The GOP should not allow a rat bill to pass congress. Just let the drilling moratorium expire on Oct 1, 2008.”
YES!!!!!!!!
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