Democratic Lawmakers Shape Energy Plan Amid Concerns Of A Government Shutdown

September 10, 2008 9:11 a.m. EST

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - Democrats are vigorously at work on a compromise energy bill amid concerns that Republicans may follow through with a threat to force a government shutdown by blocking a measure to fund the government after the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) came out of a caucus meeting on Tuesday optimistic about a Democratic energy bill that is the result of "reasonable and serious compromise." She said the measure would be taken up for a vote before the end of the week.

"It will come down to this when it comes to energy. Whose side are you on? The side of the American consumer and the taxpayer, or Big Oil?," Pelosi said during the press conference. "We're at a crucial place in our energy future and this decision will be an important one, and we want the American people to see the distinction between the Democrats and the Republicans on this."

The Democrats' bill will allow drilling 100 miles off the shores of the Carolinas, Georgia, Virginia and in the Gulf Coast off Florida. It will also transfer tax incentives from the oil industry to companies offering renewable energy.

But House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) said the plan would "leaves most American energy under lock and key." House Republican Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO) also suggested that the GOP may ask President George W. Bush to veto an annual resolution to fund the government in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 if the funding measure includes a renewal of the ban on offshore drilling, according to NPR.

Republicans have been hammering Congress to lift a 27-year-old legislative moratorium on exploration in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and and Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The legislative ban ends at the end of the fiscal year. The President already lifted a 1990 executive order in July prohibiting drilling.

Democrats have argued that oil companies should first drill in the lands already leased to them, and that the government should release oil from the national reserve to give short-term relief to consumers. The President has said the Strategic Oil Reserve will only be used for emergencies.

Blunt's threat came four days after Rep. Mike Pence, who led the first day of GOP floor protest that ended last week, said Pelosi should allow a vote on a Republican drilling bill in order to pass the funding resolution and avoid a government shutdown.

The threats have prompted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to issue a warning and call for bipartisanship. "We are not interested in any games being played. We simply want to make sure the government is allowed to function," Reid told The Hill.

"There have been Republicans saying what they want to do is close down the government. I would hope that some of those people have read very recent history where [former House Speaker Newt] Gingrich tried to do that and it didn't work out well for the Republicans and certainly didn't work out well for this country," he added.

Senators are expected to take up at least two energy bills next week, including one being pushed by a bipartisan group of 10 senators. The group, led by Sens. Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), proposes a bill to allow exploration in the Gulf of Mexico. The measure also gives Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia the option to allow exploration at least 50 miles off their coasts.