Bill To End Offshore Drilling Ban Passes
Omnibus Spending Bill, Heavy On Defense, Heads To Bush; Includes Aid To Disaster Victims, Loans To Auto Companies
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Although Democrats gave in on ending a moratorium on offshore drilling, leases to drill in additional federal waters aren't expected to be made available to energy companies until 2011. (AP)
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110th Congress
The balance of power shifts and new leadership takes control as the latest session convenes.
The 78-12 vote Saturday also lifts a quarter-century ban on oil drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. That's a big victory for Republicans.
The $634 billion bill also would provide money to keep the government running past the current budget year, which ends Tuesday, and keep domestic agencies at current levels until March - effectively punting their budgets to the next president and Congress.
The measure is dominated by $488 billion for the Pentagon, $40 billion for the Homeland Security Department, and $73 billion for veterans' programs and military base construction projects - amounting to about 60 percent of the budget work Congress must pass each year.
The stopgap measure to keep the government in business was needed because the budget process broke down this year. Agencies would be funded through March 6 or until their regular budgets pass.
After hard lobbying, automakers won up to $25 billion in low-interest loans to help them develop technologies and retool factories to meet new standards for cleaner, more fuel-efficient cars.
Republicans say ending the drilling ban should lower gasoline prices. Democrats say it won't mean additional oil production for years.
The budget legislation is the result of months of wrangling between Democrats who control Congress and the lame-duck Bush administration and its allies on Capitol Hill. The administration won approval of the defense budget while Democrats wrested concessions from the White House to obtain $23 billion in disaster aid and $5.1 billion for heating subsidies for the poor.
Smaller spending increases would gear up the Census Bureau for the 2010 count, boost spending for Pell college grants to avoid shortfalls, and fix problems in the Women, Infants and Children program, which delivers healthy foods to the poor.
The lifting of the offshore oil drilling moratorium does not mean drilling is imminent. But it could set the stage for the government to offer leases in some Atlantic federal waters as early as 2011.
The legislation also contains 2,322 pet projects totaling $6.6 billion, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, a watchdog group. That included 2,025 in the defense portion alone that cost a total of $4.9 billion.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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See all 70 CommentsIt not us its them.
Posted by gehr3
As soon as you figure out how please share it with us in the forum :)
Obama Democrats lose again.
LOL
Posted by tincup356
If it is not so easy to do. Tin favor you got an extra tin cup can I have it? I think ill need it for the soup line.
Trying to remember anything over the last 28 years that was termed a "big victory" for the Republicans and ended up being good for America in the here-and-now or the America our children will inherit...
I keep drawing a blank.
People *** like mad about the other 2 parties but still look upon the third option as a wasted vote.
Fact is no-one votes for the nice guy or common sense.
I''m looking at the storey & that little bit off info IS right there (6th para from bottom)!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcZSh1diQRQ
No longer will I hear anything about offshore drilling bans.
I bet it will be Alaska.
Funniest thing I ever read and it''s all true! I''m emailing it to everyone I know!
Oh, yeah, he had to hide out in his campaign office 10 minutes from where the vote took place.
Posted by niceface69
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Just a quick question what can solar and wind do to power the 200 million gas burning cars in the US. I am all for alternative power but we have to be realistic We are going to need oil for atleast another 15-20 years and thats if the car makers stop producing gas burning cars with in the next five years.
Excuse me, but enough is enough. Detroit was producing slugbus SUVs galore when gas prices spiked, and now I''m supposed to bail them out too. Sorry, but I can''t afford it. It''s not my fault that Japan was producing high-mileage cars, and Detroit had their heads where the Sun don''t shine. There was plenty of warning about gasoline prices far in advance.
I don''t know who are the bigger idiots. Detroit? Our elected legislators? Bush?
McCain and Obama were talking about earmarks just last night, and now I''m responsible for another 25 Billion to bail out Detroit. That''s Socialism -- pure and simple. It''s Socialism, and it''s going to kill us.
Posted by j-whitman3
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Ethanol is a joke I finally got a chance to burn some in my flex fuel Dodge Ram and even though the price was only .10 cheaper which was about 1% less. It cut my fuel milage by almost 30 percent. Gas is going have to go to about 5 or 6 dollars a gallon before ethanol will be widely used.
Well, someone said that by the time Congress gets around to voting on a drilling bill to address $140/bbl oil and $4/gal gasoline, and EVEN BIGGER problem will be dominating the headlines. I wondered how that could be possible.
NOW I KNOW.
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