Bush lifts executive ban on off-shore drilling

President Bush made it official today, signing the memorandum lifting the executive ban on off-shore drilling. His move has no direct effect: Congress still has a ban imposed on drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf.

But what the president's decision does is this: It puts new pressure on Congress to act in the face of gasoline costing more than $4 a gallon.

The president took to the Rose Garden and made his message clear:

I have issued a memorandum to lift the executive prohibition on oil exploration in the OCS. With this action, the executive branch's restrictions on this exploration have been cleared away. This means that the only thing standing between the American people and these vast oil resources is action from the U.S. Congress.

"Now the ball is squarely in Congress' court," he added.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), had this to say, in a written statement: "Once again, the oilman in the White House is echoing the demands of Big Oil."

She said:

The Bush plan is a hoax. It will neither reduce gas prices nor increase energy independence. It just gives millions more acres to the same companies that are sitting on nearly 68 million acres of public lands and coastal areas.

She added that if Bush wanted to bring down oil prices, he should allow the use of oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

For the president's memorandum, keep reading on the jump...

-- James Gerstenzang

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

                                                           ­

For Immediate Release                         July 14, 2008

July 14, 2008

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR

SUBJECT:      Modification of the Withdrawal of Areas of the United States Outer Continental Shelf from Leasing Disposition

Under the authority vested in me as President of the United States, including section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1341(a), I hereby modify the prior memoranda of withdrawals from disposition by leasing of the United States Outer Continental Shelf issued on August 4, 1992, and June 12, 1998, as modified on January 9, 2007, to read only as follows:

Under the authority vested in me as President of the United States, including section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1341(a), I hereby withdraw from disposition by leasing, for a time period without specific expiration, those areas of the Outer Continental Shelf designated as of July 14, 2008, as Marine Sanctuaries under the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act of 1972, 16 U.S.C. 1431-1434, 33 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.

Nothing in this withdrawal affects the rights under existing leases in these areas.

                             GEORGE W. BUSH

Comments

[Jay]

After the Democratic majority's poor performance in failing to block "retroactive immunity" in FISA legislation, the Administration are 99% certain of succeeding with offshore drilling, and next up - drilling in the Alaska Arctic Wildlife Refuge.

Republicans that want to vote for what they feel is right, can't vote with this team because they are too soft to be trusted in a fight.

The Bush team is also letting foriegn enemies know just how weak this team will be if they win the US Presidency.

[Brooke]

I'm glad so far congress is stopping the continuation of Bush's attempt to further his ambitions on off shore drilling. His ideas would only be a band-aid on the real problem, as long as there is a easy source of oil, the American public will not move to try and finding a better source of energy. We need to move forward and stop staying in the past, the era of oil is over, it is seen by the prices, by how much people are scrabbling for a few drops of oil. Already states such as Colorado are moving to produce more green friendly fuel and energy sources.

I do agree if oil is needed for the transition then it should be taken from the reserves not from coastlines where states rely on thier beaches for tourism and not in the Alaskan refuge, which is in the very word a refuge and shouldnt be touched unless we have no other choice and we do.