The country’s failed energy policy could be alleviated by
unlocking a vital supply of oil and natural gas reserves in the
Outer Continental Shelf and beyond, one local lawmaker wrote
earlier this month to President Bush.

U.S. Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa., the co-author of legislation
aimed at opening up drilling in those waters, wrote a letter to
Bush on Sept. 8 about the situation, imploring the president to
“play a pivotal role” in the ongoing debate in Congress over
national energy policies.

“Mr. President, our current energy crisis is self-imposed – the
product of a failed national energy policy that for years has
encouraged growth in demand for clean-burning natural gas while at
the same time working furiously to lock away supply.”

Peterson said that failure stems directly from the prohibition
on domestic energy production in the Outer Continental Shelf.

“The American people need to be told that their government is
locking away potential energy reserves that can bring down price in
the short term, save our best remaining blue collar jobs in the mid
term, and build a bridge in the long term to the future of
renewables and alternatives that we all desire.”

At the center of the debate are two different proposals from the
House and Senate. In June, the House voted to end a ban on offshore
drilling which stretched for a quarter-century, essentially
allowing energy companies to tap oil and gas reserves under the
Outer Continental Shelf and elsewhere.

Meanwhile, the Senate’s version calls for limited offshore
development – outside the central and western Gulf of Mexico – to
an area in the eastern Gulf known as Lease Area 181. The senior
chamber also wants to protect waters within 125 miles of Florida’s
coastline.

Earlier, lawmakers from both Florida and California fought any
measure which called for drilling near their coastlines, in part,
because they believed it would damage the economic benefits those
states derived from tourism.

“We require action far bolder than the Senate plan if we expect
to keep American jobs at home in the future and American energy
consumers warm in the coming winter months,” Peterson wrote to
Bush. “But only through cooperation across our branches of
government can we effectively reach the public and convince them
that we can indeed control our own energy fate. By acting alone, we
only continue down the same unfortunate path on which we are
currently stalled.”

Peterson said the Senate’s plan to limit development to Lease
Area 181 is actually a non-issue, because it’s not included under
the current presidential and congressional moratoria on drilling
and will likely be made available for exploration as early as next
year.

Officials said Bush is thought to be favoring the Senate’s
version, in part, because of concerns over how much the House’s
legislation would cost in the short-term.

“It’s not been explained to us exactly how putting hundreds of
thousands of Americans to work producing American energy for
American consumers can be viewed as a budget buster … but that
seems to be the perception held by various power brokers who occupy
offices on the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue,” Peterson’s
Communications Director Chris Tucker said.

On Capitol Hill, the two chambers are expected to sit down in
the near future and begin hashing out a compromise between the two
pieces of legislation; Peterson is slated to be named to a
congressional committee charged with reconciling the
differences.

The matter currently lies in the Senate’s hands, according to
Tucker.

“The Senate has not yet agreed to meet us at the conference
table,” Tucker said, adding there have only been discussions on the
member-level, mostly over the principles of moving forward with the
committee.

In the weeks leading up to November’s general election, Congress
isn’t expected to pass any major pieces of legislation, as members
will soon be heading off to campaign in their districts.

“I’d like to think we’ll be able to pass something down here,
but the Congressman has no interest in throwing his weight behind
an inferior bill just so he can declare victory and go home for
Christmas,” Tucker said. “This is our priority issue – and we’re
going to keep working until we can arrive at a solution that puts
energy into the pipeline for American consumers. Nothing short of
that will be acceptable.”