Dems Drilling Measure Fails

House Democrats failed again on Thursday to pass a measure requiring oil producers to drill on leased land.

The bill fell short because Democrats tried to approve it under revised rules that prevented Republicans from offering an alternative measure that would open new land for domestic oil and gas exploration.

Fearing a revolt from their own rank and file, Democratic leaders in the House are trying to avoid any votes that would allow Republicans to offer a domestic drilling measure to related bills. As a result, the party in power has all-but-abandoned the annual spending process and now brings legislation to the floor under rules that are typically reserved for noncontroversial measures.

High gas prices have made once-controversial legislation, like measures to open offshore drilling sites, more politically popular, putting congressional Democrats and their allies in the environmental community on the defensive this summer.

The big showdown could come on a stop-gap spending package this fall — or, less likely, in the next two weeks if Democrats want to avoid an embarrassing vote weeks before the November election. The size of that massive government-funding bill would make it impossible for Democrats to block Republican amendments, giving members of the minority an opening to force a vote on domestic drilling measures.
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