Bush to lift executive ban on offshore drilling
 

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By BEN FELLER



Putting pressure on congressional Democrats to back more exploration for oil, President Bush on Monday lifted an executive ban on offshore drilling that his stood since his father was president.

But the move, by itself, will do nothing unless Congress acts as well.

There are two prohibitions on offshore drilling, one imposed by Congress and another by executive order signed by the first President Bush in 1990. The current president, trying to ease market tensions and boost supply, called last month for Congress to lift its prohibition before he did so himself.

"The only thing standing between the American people and these vast oil resources is action from the U.S. Congress," Bush said in a statement in the Rose Garden. "Now the ball is squarely in Congress' court."

Bush criticized Congress for failing to lift its own ban on offshore drilling. "Failure to act is unacceptable," the president said.

"And now Americans are paying at the pump," he declared.

Congressional Democrats, joined by some GOP lawmakers from coastal states, have opposed lifting the prohibition that has barred energy companies from waters along both the East and West coasts and in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. A succession of presidents, from Bush's father -- George H.W. Bush -- to Bill Clinton, have sided against drilling in these waters, as has Congress each year for 27 years. Their goal has to been to protect beaches and coastal states' tourism economies.

"This proposal is something you'd expect from an oil company CEO, not the president of the United States," said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chairwoman of the Senate Environment Committee. "The president is taking special-interest government to a new level and threatening our thriving coastal economy."

Environmental groups, too, blasted Bush's move.

"President Bush has once again ignored the wise precedent set by his father and taken reckless action that has neither hope of reducing gas prices nor concern for long-term consequences," said Gene Karpinski, president of The League of Conservation Voters.

Asked if Bush's action alone will lead to more oil drilling, White House press secretary Dana Perino said, "In terms of allowing more exploration to go forward? No, it does not."

The president, in his final months of office, has turned to increased oil exploration among other options amid record gas-prices. None would have immediate impact on prices at the pump, according to White House officials, who say there is no quick fix. But starting action now would help, they say.

Yep I see all the 50 cent a gallon gas now. lol

lol.. high five!!!

cut the cost of production before I leave office so that my family makes billions when I'm gone!!

it will be a lower cost to transport fuel if it's drilled from pockets offshore domesticly, but do you think they will reflect that cost reduction on the consumer, FUCK NO..

lol..

this is pure politics...its was Bush daddy that signed that executive order

the only way to open up new drilling is for republicans and dems in congress to strike a deal and lift the ban.

This is Bush putting pressure on the Dems to do just that, other than that it's meaningless.

You want the price of gas to drop, stop spending money we dont have and borrowing from china to prop up a war we shouldnt be in in the first fucking place. Then the dollar will rise and the cost at the pump will drop.

For all the whining and hocus pocus bullshit you keep hearing, remember this ... the dollar is worth half what it was 2 years ago against major world currencie

two years ago gas was half what it is now

it aint rocket science yall.

Bush is a bigger threat to my freedom than al quada

Why do americans think that oil that will be drilled offshore will be sold in the american market....????

I like how he stays right on top of things :disgust



Where were you 7 years ago, Dubya?

because most Americans =

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drill Bush out a.s.a.p.

That is good news. Lifting the executive order is the first step. Obviously increasing domestic drilling will not solve all of our energy supply problems......... but it will help so why not do it?

Bush is going to do some wacky stuff before he leaves.

now, please get rid of the Ethanol mandate

Just when I thought George Bush Jr, could do nothing more to cement his position as the worst President ever (aside from invading Iran), he attempts to pull this bullshit!

Under the guise of populism and reducing gas prices at the pump, he proposes plundering our scenic coastlines so that he and his buddies and benefactors in the oil biz can further squeeze the public, while lining their pockets even more.

Even though he personally knows all of the oil barons (domestic and international), to date, Dubya hasn't done shit to ease gas prices, and I have a feeling that he has been complicit in the price escalation and unprecedented profits of the oil companies from Day One. Who do you think got this Bozo to where he is today? This is just payback.

Bush's biggest accomplishments in office are getting us mired down in unending wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (which enriches the military-industrial complex), cutting taxes on the wealthiest Americans while driving the National Debt to unprecedented levels, and letting the financial and real estate industries take corporate greed to the point that we are now in a recession and are heading towards a depression.

I'm expecting his next move will be to propose a bailout, on the public dime, for the financial institutions and real estate shysters that caused all of this in the first place - so much for capitalism.

The neo-cons have done a great job of bankrupting the country while lining their own pockets, and leading us on a path to self-destruction (if the many enemies they have stirred up internationally don't get to us first).

These people are crooks who belong in jail, yet instead they will get bailed out, and will suffer no serious consequences (most of them, no doubt, acted to hide away lots of their ill-gotten gains long before the collapse began, that is what such weasels do - it's the nature of the beast).

They've succeeded in creating and funding a mercenary army to defend them or attempt to overthrow the nation if anyone ever dares to bring them to justice (Blackwater, et al), so I guess it really is mission accomplished for Bush and his supporters...

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ADG

Doesn't even matter.. The executive ban was only a ceremonial ban... The Congressional ban is the one that matters.

Very funny!! :1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh