New oil drilling passes House panel

WASHINGTON — In the latest sign of the political jitters on Capitol Hill over high gasoline prices, a House committee voted Wednesday to relax a long-standing federal ban on new oil and gas drilling off most of the U.S. coast and to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to energy exploration.

Supporters of the legislation argued that with natural-gas and crude-oil prices soaring and domestic supplies tight, it is time to end the 24-year federal ban that has blocked energy development along virtually all of the country's coastal waters outside the central and western Gulf of Mexico.

The provision, which will be wrapped into a massive budget package, would allow states that want drilling within 125 miles of their shores a waiver from the federal moratorium that has been in effect since 1981. States choosing to allow drilling would get half of the royalties from lease sales. The ban would remain in effect along states that do not seek a waiver.

The measure, which also would open the ANWR to oil companies, was approved 24-15 by the House Committee on Resources in a largely party-line vote.

Past attempts to weaken the offshore drilling ban and open ANWR to oil development have been thwarted in the Senate as drilling supporters were unable to muster the 60 votes needed to surpass a filibuster.

However, the budget measure, which is designed to bring overall government spending levels in line with Congress' budget ceiling, is not subject to filibuster. ANWR drilling was included because supporters said it would produce $2.4 billion in revenues from lease sales over five years. The measure calls for the first leases in ANWR's coastal plain to be put up for sale within 22 months.

"You cannot continue to oppose any new (energy) resource development in this country," argued Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., the committee's chairman. He maintained that states, like his own, that oppose offshore drilling will continue to be protected.

Supporters of the new drilling said hurricanes Katrina and Rita demonstrated the need to develop domestic oil and gas resources outside the Gulf region. But some lawmakers worried that their states' beaches and waters might be hurt. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said a state like his — with a small coast — could see its beaches polluted from an oil spill nearby.

Last week, the Senate also took steps to include ANWR drilling in the budget document, although it did not include language that would end the offshore-drilling moratorium. That issue faces a "steep uphill battle" in the Senate, said Eric Ueland, chief of staff to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn.