Pelosi: Oil spill must be considered when judging Obama’s drilling plan

The
Speaker’s comments come after Obama received a briefing
on the spill Thursday morning, underscoring the likelihood it will
impact the debate over his drilling plan as well as sweeping climate
change legislation set to be considered by Congress following the
completion of the financial regulatory overhaul.

Those opposed to
Obama’s drilling plan have said the spill should cause the
administration to reconsider its decision to expand offshore
exploration.

Federal and congressional investigators are currently
examining the spill to determine its cause.

President Barack
Obama said in a Rose Garden statement Thursday that his administration
“will continue to use every single available resource at our disposal,
including potentially the Department of Defense, to address the
incident.”

But the White House has not said that plans to expand
drilling areas should be sidelined.

Pelosi did say that,
overall, drilling is safer than it was years ago, but that safety could
be improved.

“There is much safer drilling than when we
started this fight many years ago,” said Pelosi, when than added that there is “room for
improvement.”

Cross-posted from the Briefing Room