House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she has no plans to bring the issue to a vote. She and other House Democrats want energy companies to focus on the tens of millions of acres of public land that they've already leased for drilling.
"We need to focus on developing the extensive resources currently available before opening up additional land," said Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, a Southern Maryland Democrat. "And we need to look to investing more in alternatives, which are critical to our long-term, sustainable energy future."
But as costs increase, Democrats are facing pressure from the growing numbers of Americans who want new areas opened to exploration. In a typical finding, 73 percent in a nationwide CNN/Opinion Research poll last month favored more offshore drilling for oil and natural gas in currently protected U.S. waters.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said recently that he would consider exploration. Schrade, whose organization represents U.S.-based natural gas producers and marketers, said he was optimistic.
"We hope Congress will listen to the voice of the American people on this issue," he said. "As prices have escalated, people have begun to say, 'Wow, let's get what we can from where we can.' "
That attitude worries environmentalists.
"We're faced with a challenge in getting as much gas as we're continuing to use and projected to use," said Heavner. "But the answer is not to use all our oil as quickly as possible. The answer is to use less oil."
Democrats say they support domestic drilling as one element of a larger push that would also include conservation and investment in alternative fuels. They have been pushing a "use it or lose it" bill, which would require producers to develop existing drilling leases or return them to the federal government.
"I think it's highly premature to start musing about drilling off the coast of Ocean City when there's plenty of available locations to do drilling now," Sarbanes said. "Anyone who wants to beat that drum, they ought to first explain why they're not using the permits that they've already got."
matthew.brown@baltsun.com
