Drilling ban up for vote today

The Senate is to take up Sen. Bill Nelson's proposal to put off the sale of oil and gas leases off Florida's west coast.

By JOHN BALZ

© St. Petersburg Times,
published July 12, 2001

WASHINGTON -- Democratic critics of President Bush's plans to drill for oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico are taking their case to the Senate floor, setting up votes today on a drilling ban and on the nomination of a former oil executive to a key administration job.

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said it was unlikely his colleagues would go along with his proposal to forbid the sale of oil and gas leases in the eastern Gulf of Mexico for six months. The ban is similar to one approved by the House of Representatives last month.

"This is going to be a tough vote," Nelson said in an interview Wednesday night. "But that's not a reason to do it. The principle here is very important and I'm going to fight."

"It is without question in most Floridians' minds that the possibility of an oil spill would be a devastating economic blow -- a spike right to the heart -- of a $50-billion-a-year tourism industry," he said in debate on the Senate floor.

Also today, the Senate is expected to vote on the nomination of J. Steven Griles, an oil and gas lobbyist, who is Bush's nominee for the No. 2 spot at the Department of Interior.

Nelson had used a senatorial courtesy -- called a "hold" -- that prevented the Senate from considering Griles for the position. He said Wednesday he was lifting the hold, in exchange for assurances he hoped would prevent further drilling in the gulf.

Debate on the drilling proposal began Wednesday, as Democrats set up a series of politically dicey votes on Bush's plan to reach into environmentally sensitive lands to find oil and gas for energy needs.

In one test, the Democratic-led Senate voted to bar coal mining and oil and gas drilling on federally protected land in the West.

The 57-42 roll call aligned the Senate with the House, which voted last month to ban mineral extraction from the monuments after Democrats there won support from moderate Republicans. The two chambers' votes make it likely the prohibition will be included in the compromise spending bill for the Interior Department that they will write in coming weeks.

Congressional opposition already has led Bush to back off his plans for the Gulf of Mexico.

In the past two weeks, Gov. Jeb Bush reached an agreement with the Interior Department to sell oil and gas leases in a 1.5-million tract in Area 181, and there is growing uncertainty that the House proposal will even survive in a conference committee. That deal came after the House voted for a six-month ban, with the support of 70 Republicans.

Nelson's block on Griles' nomination, which had been in place since June 15, was one of the few cards remaining in the hands of drilling supporters. But the deck turned unkind late Tuesday night. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., approached Nelson about dropping his hold after Republicans threatened to retaliate by holding up appropriations bills.

Nelson agreed. But he won assurances that he would be allowed to offer his amendment on the drilling ban and that he would get a meeting with Griles this morning.

Nelson plans to make sure that Griles, and the Interior Department, will strictly adhere to the newly reduced Area 181. He hopes to extract a promise that the Bush administration will not suddenly announce it wants to expand drilling in the eastern gulf.

Nelson's six-month drilling ban amendment is likely to fail today, as a number of key Democrats have come out in opposition to it.

Sens. John Breaux and Mary Landrieu, both from Louisiana where oil and gas companies are key to the economic engine, plan to cast "nay" votes.

Landrieu said every state has a responsibility to supply energy, and pointed out that Florida is the No. 3 user of petroleum in the country but only accounts for 2 percent of national oil production.

"This attitude of, 'I want to enjoy the power but I don't want to produce the power,' has to come to an end," she said.

Sen. Frank Murkowski, R-Alaska, the top Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee who supports opening up the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration, mocked the "Not in My Backyard" politicians, who have been labeled NIMBYS by drilling supporters.

"At what point do we have a reasonable definition of what's offshore in one state?" he asked.

Meanwhile, Nelson spoke on the Senate floor for more than an hour in defense of his amendment.

He highlighted Florida's dependence on tourism, which he said is inextricably linked to its environment.

Amid his stand, Nelson even allowed himself the pleasant memory of riding down a Florida road in a clean-burning, 53 miles-to-the-gallon hybrid car. His eyes "riveted" to the television screen in the middle of the console, checking the engine to see when it was running on gas and when it was running on an electric battery.

"I was astounded," he said. "Can you imagine if we used our technological progress to get serious about our automotive and transportation fleets? What we could accomplish?"

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