Offshore drilling issue settled by House Democrats

The issue of offshore drilling has been settled by House Democrats.

After months of battling with the Republicans over this issue, House Democrats have agreed to allow a longtime ban on drilling to expire at the end of this month. The issue still requires a vote in the Senate.

Steve Ross, a UNCW research professor said, “Well the lifting of the drilling ban by Congress is moving along very rapidly, and it has all the appearance of being a knee jerk reaction to the publics concern over gas prices and the economy in general. There is quite a lot of production left in the Gulf of Mexico and that would be a good place to continue exploration.”

If the House bill passes the Senate the offshore drilling moratorium would be temporarily lifted, but a more fixed policy would be determined during the next election year.