Senate GOP celebrates drilling victory

Senate GOP leaders crowed Wednesday over their victory in the battle over an offshore drilling ban, but acknowledged that they will have to forge a new deal with Democrats to prevent a vacuum in U.S. policy. 

Ten Republicans appeared at the noon press conference Wednesday to celebrate Tuesday’s expiration of a congressional moratorium on offshore oil drilling. President Bush already lifted the executive ban in July.

{mosads}Starting Wednesday, those two acts will reverse 27 years of policy that prevented oil companies from drilling off coastal states in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and the Gulf of Mexico. The moratorium prevented the Department of the Interior from issuing drilling leases in certain waters covered by the ban.

“We thought it was a good time to pause and celebrate an extraordinary accomplishment,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who also cautioned Democrats against reinstating the ban if Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is elected president.

Senate Republican Conference Chairman Lamar Alexander of Tennessee said the ban’s expiration “proves we can play offense.”

“This is a big victory, and it ought not to be underestimated,” he said.

However, senators also acknowledged concerns over the vacuum that will be created starting next week — there is no policy for revenue-sharing among coastal states, and there are no guidelines for the federal approval process. Federal regulations will still govern the type and location of drilling that can occur, for example, but senators said they want to modify those regulations.

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) noted that, even after the ban is lifted, federal regulations can string out an oil company’s lease for years before granting approval. He and other Republicans also want to promote drilling in waters that aren’t covered by the ban but are still prohibited, such as a large section in the Gulf of Mexico that the Department of Defense is using for training purposes.

“This is a great step, but it’s only the first step,” Chambliss said.

Crafting an agreement on those issues will require working with Democrats who are already unhappy over the ban’s expiration — and who may be emboldened, both in the Senate and the White House, after November’s elections.

Such an agreement won’t happen at least until next year, given the political and legislative calendars. Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) acknowledged that it at least means that a gap will be created in federal drilling policy.

“There’s no question that a lot more has to occur — some congressional guidance to make sure that we actually take advantage of this moratorium being lifted,” Corker said.

Democrats, such as Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and drilling proponent Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, have warned of the vacuum that will be created.

Any effort to push drilling off the Gulf Coast of Florida will invite serious opposition from Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), who has fought fiercely to prevent it, as well as negotiations with military officials.