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McCain Supports End to Offshore Drilling Ban

Posted on: Tuesday, 17 June 2008, 09:15 CDT

Presumptive Republican presidential candidate John McCain told reporters on Monday that he supports an end to the federal ban on offshore oil drilling.

The announcement comes in response to increasingly high prices at the pump. McCain hopes to earn the votes of some Americans, 80 percent of whom reported in a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll that high gas prices are causing financial hardship.

"We must embark on a national mission to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil," McCain told reporters yesterday before leaving Washington to attend two fundraisers in Dallas.

Today, McCain plans to add to that with a new speech saying: "We have untapped oil reserves of at least 21 billion barrels in the United States. But a broad federal moratorium stands in the way of energy exploration and production. . . . It is time for the federal government to lift these restrictions."

McCain has also suggested that incentives should be put into place, such as royalties paid by companies that drill for oil. He also supports federal subsidies for building more nuclear plants, which he considers the best way to reduce U.S. carbon dioxide emissions.

The GOP presidential candidate said a recent run-up in the price of oil was having an adverse effect on consumers.

"We've seen the impact of it in the form of food prices, in the form of gasoline, in the form of threats of inflation and indeed indications of inflation, and we must we must embark on a national mission to eliminate our dependence on foreign oil," he said.

McCain has sought to carve out something of a middle road on energy issues, parting company with many Republicans by opposing drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, for example and calling for measures to reduce greenhouse gases.

Though McCain once courted members of several environmental groups, yesterday they criticized him for backing an idea they said would endanger the nation's most environmentally sensitive waters.

"It's disappointing that Senator McCain is clinging to the failed energy policies of the past," said Tiernan Sittenfeld, legislative director for the League of Conservation Voters.

McCain did not reveal any other details in his proposal, but he is expected to elaborate further in an energy speech on Tuesday.

Currently, the ban on offshore drilling applies to about 80 percent of U.S. coastal waters. And with opposition by Democratic members of Congress to end the ban, many congressional Republicans have been looking to state incentives as an option.

Sierra Club political director Cathy Duvall said McCain "is using the environment as a way to portray himself as being different from George Bush. But the reality is that he isn't."

Obama spokesman Hari Sevugan said "John McCain's plan to simply drill our way out of our energy crisis is the same misguided approach backed by President Bush that has failed our families for too long and only serves to benefit the big oil companies."

McCain’s new push to end the ban is expected to draw criticism from two key Republican allies—California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist -- both of whom oppose drilling off their states' coastlines.

Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear noted the governor's overall support for McCain's candidacy but said: "There are things that he and the senator will agree on, and things they won't agree on."

Crist said in a statement: "It has become increasingly clear that we must be pragmatic in protecting both our beaches and our economy. We look forward to the dialogue as we move forward to protect both our environment and our country's economic interests."

Source: redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports

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