Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid is trying to ban shale oil
exploration while most members of Congress are focusing on the $700
billion financial bailout.
Sen. Jim DeMint (R.-S.C.) posted the text of Reid’s proposed ban
on shale on his Senate blog Thursday afternoon. "It would be an insult
to all Americans if Senate Democrats worked to bailout Wall Street
while damaging our future prosperity by banning development of vast
energy reserves in oil shale,” a DeMint staffer wrote.
Colorado Sen. Wayne Allard’s (R.) staff also sounded the alarm
once they got wind of Reid’s plans. Allard’s state would be
directly affected by the shale ban, as most of the nation’s shale
depositories are in the Western states.
Approximately 800 billion to 2 trillion barrels of oil are estimated to be located there.
The congressional ban on offshore drilling and shale exploration is set
to expire on September 30. Conservative proponents of domestic energy
exploration have declared October 1 “Energy Freedom Day” to
celebrate the ban’s termination.
The fight over offshore drilling and shale has been explosive over the
last few months. House Republicans staged protests in their chamber
throughout the August recess calling on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
(D.-Calif.) to hold stand-alone votes on offshore drilling.
Republicans celebrated last week when Democrats signaled they would let
the bans naturally expire over recess. The Democrats’ concession
came amid concerns their party would be faulted for high gas prices in
the November election.
If Reid’s amendment is successfully added to a continuing
resolution to keep government functioning while Congress recesses for
the November elections, however, the ban would effectively be kept in
place.
Like DeMint's office, House Minority Leader John Boenher (R.-Ohio) thought Reid's amendment is "insulting."
“Sen. Reid’s move to reinstate the ban on oil shale energy
production is an insult to the American people and yet another example
of Democrats acting to make energy more expensive for working families
and small businesses," the Republican leader said in a statement. "At a
time when our economy is struggling, it’s outrageous that Sen.
Reid would attempt to block efforts to open up responsible oil shale
development, which would create good-paying jobs and help lower energy
costs."
