One Pennsylvania lawmaker said the battle over whether to unlock
the supply of natural gas located in the Outer Continental Shelf
could eventually lead to one casualty – major American
industry.

On Thursday, U.S. Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa., said in testimony
before the House Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral
Resources, that congressional inaction on America’s natural gas
crisis could lead to the dissolution of major industries, and
affect scores of citizens facing soaring gas prices during the
winter season.

“We’re here today because of a problem caused by government,”
Peterson said. “But, there are solutions. By opening the Outer
Continental Shelf, we can take advantage of the largest pot of gas,
nearest to the people, without having any adverse impact on the
environment – none.”

Peterson, along with Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii, introduced
the Outer Continental Shelf Natural Gas Relief Act of 2005 Tuesday,
the latest in a series of attempts to expand offshore drilling due
to price increases and shortages linked to fuel supply disruptions
caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the Gulf of Mexico.

So far, opponents of the legislation – principally the Florida
congressional delegation and Gov. Jeb Bush – have been able to beat
back attempts to lift presidential and congressional moratoriums on
offshore drilling. Oil and gas rigs are seen as a threat to beaches
that are vital to Florida’s tourism industry.

“We’re legislators here, not theologians,” Abercrombie said.
“But unfortunately, we’re coming up against what some people
believe is sacred text. As a result, some of us who believe that
there’s legitimate reason to raise the issue of how to explore for
and extricate natural gas find ourselves having to defend the very
idea that such a question should be asked.”

U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., expressed grave concern
about the issue on his Web site Tuesday.

“This is completely unacceptable,” Diaz-Balart said. “Floridians
should decide what happens in our waters, not people in Hawaii or
Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, as this bipartisan legislation shows,
the drumbeat to drill is getting louder. We need a permanent ban
that Florida controls.”

The legislation would expand states’ control of those federal
waters for the purpose of production from three miles, where the
line is currently drawn, out to 20 miles and open up the remaining
portions of the OCS (up to 200 miles) for natural gas-only
leasing.

Meanwhile, the bill provides a full 40 percent of revenue
sharing to individual states for all new natural gas leasing off
their coasts, potentially sending billions of additional dollars to
states encouraging new production, as well as to states –
predominantly on the Gulf Coast – that have been producing natural
gas for years.

Also, the legislation would direct 10 percent of all revenue
earned from new offshore natural gas leasing to the Low Income Home
Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a federal account created to
help low-income Americans pay their heating bills over the
winter.

When asked by The Era Thursday whether the Florida delegation’s
opposition to the legislation could hamper Peterson’s ability to
pass other legislation, Peterson’s Communications Director Chris
Tucker said those ideas are “far-fetched.”

“I think it’s fair to say that, although the Florida delegation
– Gov. Jeb Bush included – constitutes a powerful lot around here,
Mr. Peterson serves in the U.S. Congress, not the Florida
Legislature,” Tucker said. “He pursues issues about which he feels
strongly, and any theory that suggests his latest efforts would
somehow lead the governor to affect the president to affect the
Congress and legislation seems just a bit far-fetched.”

Tucker said while there has been opposition to the legislation,
“We’re still digging for additional co-sponsors.” He added the
congressman has historically had bipartisan support.

The legislation would need the approval of at least 218 members
to pass the House before being forwarded to the Senate for a
vote.

According to Tucker, the substance of the bill will remain
intact, although it could be “tweaked” along the way.

Thursday’s hearing also featured numerous members of leading
industries nationwide, including from the chemical and
manufacturing fields.

A similar piece of legislation, which deals with permitting oil
drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, has been
stripped in a budget-cutting measure. The Peterson-Abercrombie bill
will not be attached to the budget bill, but proceed through
Congress like typical legislation.