White House Says No New Offshore Drilling Until Investigation is Complete
Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Threatens to Jeopardize President Obama's Offshore Drilling Policy
4 comments By HUMA KHAN
April 30, 2010
As Democratic lawmakers call on President Obama to suspend his plans to expand offshore oil drilling, the White House today said that there will be no new domestic offshore drilling until the investigation of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill incident is complete.
Footage shows spilled oil being burned in an effort to clean up the accident. "All he has said is that he is not going to continue the moratorium on drilling but... no additional drilling has been authorized and none will until we find out what happened here and whether there was something unique and preventable here," White House senior adviser David Axelrod said on "Good Morning America" today, defending the administration's policy.
Axelrod said no new offshore drilling will go forward until "there is an adequate review of what happened here and what is being proposed elsewhere."
As Gulf Coast residents brace for mounds of slick to hit their shores, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has seeped into the energy debate in Washington, D.C. and threatens to disrupt Obama's policy and the bipartisan energy legislation in the Senate.
Obama last month lifted a longtime ban on offshore drilling and oil and gas exploration, saying it was crucial to U.S. energy security. In a rare case of bipartisanship, the proposal won broad support from Republicans. But it angered environmentalists, who argued that offshore drilling won't help lower gas prices or reduce the United States' dependence on foreign oil. Rather, it will adversely impact marine life and beaches.
The Senate energy and climate bill drafted jointly by Sens. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, and Joe Lieberman, I-Connecticut, also encouraged offshore oil drilling, a move aimed at attracting Republican support.
But now, with environmentalists and some lawmakers pointing to the Gulf of Mexico disaster and arguing that there is no truly safe offshore operation, the Obama administration and senators who drafted the bill could have a tougher time moving forward.
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