I urge my colleagues to reject S. 3711, the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) leasing bill. Even if you support the lifting of the OCS oil and gas leasing moratoria and greater drilling in American Coastal waters, this measure should not be considered under suspension of the rules, a procedure which bars amendments and limits debates to only 20 minutes per side during the last week of a lame duck session of Congress.

This measure, which is limited to oil and gas leasing in the Gulf of Mexico, also hardly constitutes comprehensive energy legislation to deal with the price of motor fuels and natural gas. It is a “bumper sticker� bill, a rifle shot, more about where the federal revenue from drilling goes rather than providing for greater energy security.

What is more, the legislation does absolutely nothing to fix the existing royalty relief problem which both the GAO and the Administration estimate will cost the American taxpayers $60 billion over the next 25 years.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 5th, 2006 at 12:19 pm and is filed under Energy/Environment, Politics .