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August 2, 2006
US: In Outbreak of Sanity, Senate Passes Oil Drilling Bill
When people ask 'why is the price of gasoline so high', let history show that one reason has been the well-cultivated ignorance of the United States Congress. The passage of this bill by the Senate and a better bill passed by the House of Representatives makes it likely that at least some drilling will be allowed, and that the profits of the Mad Iranian Mullas and 'our friends the Saudis' will suffer as a result a few years from now: Senate passes bill to allow drilling in Gulf of Mexico
WASHINGTON -- The Senate voted yesterday to open 8.3 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas exploration in a bid to boost domestic production and stabilize natural gas prices that have driven up the costs of home heating, agriculture, manufacturing and alternative fuel.But supporters cautioned that it may not become law unless energy and manufacturing lobbyists persuade the House to scale back its broader ambition to scrap a 25-year-old nationwide moratorium on all new offshore drilling from Alaska and California to the East Coast.
"We have to have the response from the interested groups that have been so keen on having this happen, to now go and say, 'Hey, this is all we can get done, and it's better to do this than to do nothing,' " said Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla.
After the vote, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, congratulated the Senate for taking a "good first step," but they emphasized that "House Republicans strongly support our bill" as superior. They said they look forward to crafting a compromise with the Senate.[...]
Posted by Ruy Diaz at August 2, 2006 2:46 PM
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