Bush Repeats Call For Offshore Drilling; Denies Bailout Of Mortgage Companies

July 15, 2008 12:11 p.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - President George W. Bush reiterated his call on Tuesday for Congress to lift the legislative ban on coastal oil exploration. He also assured investors that the government's rescue plan for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac did not constitute a bailout.

"The only thing standing between these vast resources and the American people is action from Congress," the President said during a press conference at Brady Briefing Room, according to CNN. "The sooner Congress lifts the ban, the sooner we can get these resources from the ocean floor to the refineries to the gas pump."

He added that the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SRP), from which Democrats have asked him to authorize a drawdown, "is for emergencies, and (withdrawing from it) doesn't address the fundamental issue."

The President's statement come a day after he lifted the executive order prohibiting offshore drilling. Congress still has to lift a legislative moratorium for any drilling to be allowed.

Democratic lawmakers oppose ending the ban on offshore exploration because of concerns about the environment. They have argued that oil companies currently already have 68 million acres of coastal land to explore, and that curbing excessive speculation in the oil markets, and not drilling, would stem the rising cost of gas.

President Bush also said the government's rescue package for the nation's two largest mortgage companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are only "temporary" and that "shareholders still own the company."

"I don't think the government ought to be involved with bailing out companies," he also said.

Shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac plummeted to their lowest levels in17 years on Friday, leading to fears that the government may need to bail out the two mortgage giants. The Dow Jones fell below the 11,000 mark for the first time in two years the same day, as oil hit a record $147 a barrel.

The Treasury Department announced on Sunday it will ask Congress for a bill extending its line of credit to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as well as allow it to buy stock from the two mortgage giants. The Federal Reserve said the same day that the two companies, which own $5.2 trillion of U.S. home mortgages, will be allowed to borrow from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.