Bush To Lift Executive Offshore Drilling Ban

President Bush will soon lift an executive ban on offshore drilling that was established under his father in a move to put more pressure on congressional Democrats, a White House spokeswoman said Monday.

Congress must first agree to rollback its own ban before this executive order would have any impact, and White House press secretary Dana Perino acknowledged this maneuver would have minimal short-term impact on the price at the pump.

But the move does step up pressure on congressional Democrats to address a Republican push to open offshore sites for oil and gas drilling 50 miles from much of the country's coastline. Democratic leaders have blocked votes on these amendments in recent weeks, despite calls from their own members to rollback this ban.

Bush's two predecessors in the White House - George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton - have rejected calls for offshore drilling, and the president himself initiating told Congress he would only lift his executive ban after lawmakers repealed their own, despite pressure to go further.