Bush pushes Congress to allow oil drilling
By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent
Fri Jul 11, 12:22 PM ET
WASHINGTON - President Bush prodded Congress on Friday to allow oil drilling in offshore waters and in the Alaskan wildlife refuge, citing "tough economic times" for the American people.
Bush met with his senior economic advisers at the Energy Department to discuss soaring prices for gasoline and crude oil. Bush said one answer is to increase supply in this country by tapping "the vast potential" of crude oil reserves on offshore lands and in Alaska as well as in oil shale in the western part of the United States.
With gasoline prices above $4 a gallon, Bush and his Republican allies think American's reluctance to drill in pristine waters and lands is diminishing and that there is an opportunity for oil companies to move into areas that have been off limits.
"And yet the Democratic leaders of Congress have consistently blocked opening up these lands for exploration," the president said. He said that technology has changed dramatically and that oil can be recovered in a way that protects the environment.
"The members of Congress, particularly the Democratic leadership, must address this issue before they go home" in August, Bush said. "They have a responsibility to explain to their constituents why we should not be drilling for more oil here in America to take the pressure off of gasoline prices."
"Crude oil prices are up and one reason crude oil prices are up is because demand is outstripping supply," the president said. "And therefore what can we do about it? That ought to be the question the United States Congress asks."
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http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/07/10/Pel...45881215729617/
Pelosi decries expanded drilling
Published: July 10, 2008
WASHINGTON, July 10 (UPI) -- U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said calls to drill in protected, sensitive areas is "a hoax" perpetrated by Republicans and the Bush administration.
Pelosi and other Democratic leaders unveiled proposals that would address the energy and gas price crisis, and renewed their calls for immediate drilling on nearly 100 million domestic acres already approved for exploration, The Hill reported Thursday. They also urged President George Bush to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
"This call for drilling in areas that are protected is a hoax, it's an absolute hoax on the part of the Republicans and this administration," Pelosi said. "It's a decoy to punt your attention away from the fact that their policies have produced $4-a-gallon gasoline."
Pelosi's position may put her at variance with members of the Democratic Caucus who have been moving toward striking compromises with Republicans on ways to expand domestic energy production.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said expanded offshore drilling is not off the table, and that Democrats will consider whether states should be able to choose to drill off their coasts, as Bush has suggested.
