Dems to push for offshore drilling ban when Congress reconvenes

Democrats have listed putting an end to offshore drilling as a top priority once Congress returns next week.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said the chamber would consider blocking offshore drilling in almost all waters surrounding the U.S. when Congress reconvenes next week after the August recess. {mosads}

“The House will take up three bills that will block oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, and in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico. These bills will help protect our environment and the economies of coastal communities that rely on tourism, outdoor recreation, and fishing,” Hoyer wrote in a letter.  

The House already voted to block offshore drilling in those areas for a year by including those measures in the Department of the Interior budget. 

Separate pieces of legislation that would permanently bar offshore drilling advanced out of committee in June. 

The legal battle over whether to drill in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — an area deemed protected by former President Obama — has delayed the Interior’s five-year offshore drilling plan.