Democratic Leaders Cite Support For Drilling In Current Leases

Washington, D.C.(AHN) - The House Democratic leadership responded Wednesday to the continuing GOP protest on offshore drilling.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) released a report featuring 10 questions for Republicans about their stance on energy independence. The report is fundamentally a list of arguments Pelosi has used in the lengthy debate Democrats have held with Republicans on lifting the ban on offshore drilling.

It highlights 13 major proposals introduced by Democrats to increase domestic oil supply, including a bill to on fuel efficiency standards and "responsible drilling" in Alaska. It reiterates Pelosi's call for using oil from the Strategic Oil Reserve (SRP) and cites the Energy Department statements that drilling offshore "would not begin there until 2017, and the impact on prices before 2030 would be 'insignificant.'"

The Speaker also asks, "If House Republicans are for "all of the above," why do you oppose efforts to protect consumers like price gouging and holding OPEC accountable for price fixing?"

"When House Republicans were in the majority for 12 years, our dependence on foreign oil escalated. Why didn't House Republicans do something about America's energy independence to ensure we wouldn't reach the energy crisis we're in now?," Pelosi adds.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), meanwhile, shifted her focus to Democratic support for responsible drilling in current leases given to oil companies.

"Democrats agree that we need increased domestic drilling, and we have pushed oil companies to explore the 311 million acres already available to them, especially the 68 million acres, 33 million of which is in the OCS, where they hold leases but are not drilling. We have also encouraged increased exploration in Alaska. Republicans rejected both policies though they would have increased domestic oil supply," she said in a statement.

Republicans want to end to the moratorium on exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). They began a floor protest after Congress adjourned for the summer recess last Friday calling for Pelosi to hold an emergency session and allow a vote on drilling.

They continued making speeches lambasting Pelosi until Wednesday, and said they would do so until their demands are met. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich joined them the same day and said during a press conference, "The case is clear that if we have more supply we'd have lower prices...The speaker, the Senate majority leader can temporarily avoid reality... Speaker Pelosi believes that going on a book tour and selling her book is a better idea than solving America's energy problem."