The Democrats took a beating in the court of public opinion recently when they chose to recess for the summer without doing anything productive for the oil/energy crisis.

Now that congress is back in session, they have seen the light and have proposed a new bill to address offshore oil drilling….by banning it again, efectively, as their bill bans all drilling inside 50 miles, and 90-95 percent of the estimated oil reserves lie inside that mark: ¹

The American Conservative Union called out the Dem bluff earlier today:

When we were kids, we all played a variation of the game “Let’s Pretend” in which we pretended to do something or be somebody knowing it was make-believe. The authors of this bill are playing “Let’s Pretend” with the American people, pretending they are passing a bill to increase domestic energy production when they know it will do no such thing.

By eliminating revenue sharing for the states in royalties for offshore oil and gas drilling while requiring states to approve the drilling leases, the bill’s sponsors know it is unlikely the states will bother to give their approval. Even Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana has said this bill “will not see the light of day in the Senate” should it pass the House.

The bill prohibits drilling less than 50 miles offshore when the sponsors know that, to give an example, 95% of the known reserves off the coast of California are less than 50 miles out.

Once again, as in other energy legislation, the bill needlessly increases taxes that only serve to increase the cost of energy. The bill will also increase electricity bills for the average consumer by forcing utility companies to use alternative fuels regardless of the cost. This provision has already been rejected by the Senate in a previous energy bill.

The American people are demanding we change our bankrupt energy policy which has prevented the U.S. from utilizing our own resources and made us dangerously dependent on foreign oil supplies from unfriendly countries. They will not fall for a bill full of gimmicks which does not do the job.

Sham:

Democratic leaders called it a step toward energy independence, but Republicans labeled it a “sham” because most of the estimated 18 billion barrels of oil believed to lie below off-limits coastal waters are within 50 miles of land and will remain out of bounds.

The measure passed in a largely party-line vote of 236-189. It now goes to the Senate, where energy will be the topic later in the week. Thirteen Democrats bucked their leadership and voted against the measure.

Sham may not be accurate.  How about insulting fraud?

Here are more details:²

n Sept. 30, a congressional ban on offshore drilling expires, and the government can start issuing leases to oil companies to start new drilling.
 
In anticipation of that deadline, House Democrats – with the help of a few Republicans — passed a bill this week that could reinstate the ban in many areas but also allow some new drilling albeit with many restrictions – those excessive regulations, many Republicans say, would effectively make new drilling impossible.
 
In addition, the bill includes billions of dollars in alternative energy-related earmarks and tax hikes for energy companies.
 
If the American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act – which passed the House by a margin of 263-189 on Tuesday, becomes law – it would replace the annual congressional ban on most offshore drilling which originated in Congress in 1982.
 
The latest bill has to pass in the Senate and be signed by the president to become law. In Tuesday’s vote in the House, 221 Democrats and 15 Republicans voted yes, while 176 Republicans and 13 Democrats voted no.
 
The new bill would institute a ban on all drilling within 100 miles of the United States unless the state bordering the water chose to “opt-in” and allow drilling between the 50- and 100-mile markers.
 
The bill bans all drilling within 50 miles of the U.S. coast.

…

Republicans and conservatives noted that the bill would impose $18 billion in taxes on the largest oil companies. That tax money would go to fund tax breaks for alternative energy, such as solar, wind, and biomass, and to numerous earmarks such as a $1.7 billion mass transit system in New York City.
 
“This [big oil] is where the Democrats come back to when they need to pay for big spending bills,” Andy Roth, director of government affairs at the conservative Club for Growth, told CNSNews.com. “There isn’t anything pro-growth about this bill. Taxes on corporations flow through to the consumers who will end up paying more for gas.”
 
But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement Tuesday that the bill should be viewed as a tax cut for the American people.
 
“At the heart of this legislation is an enormous tax cut for clean, renewable American energy, to help an industry — that will create millions of new jobs — get up and running,” said Pelosi. 
 
Republicans have also complained about how the bill was pushed through the House. The 282-page document, which was written by Democrats, was made available at 10PM on Tuesday and scheduled by the Democratic leadership, who control the House’s schedule, as the first vote of the day for Wednesday morning. The bill was also subject to a closed rule, which made it immune to most amendments.

Fools.  So much for the culture of change.  This is just more feel good, do nothing legislation.

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1. http://michellemalkin.com/2008/09/16/democrats-pass-hoax-drilling-bill/ [back]
2. http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?RsrcID=35895 [back]

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