Senate Backs Gulf Drilling Compromise
The Senate Thursday backed a White House compromise that scales back proposed oil and natural gas drilling off Florida's Gulf coast, rejecting a bid by Florida's Democratic senators to temporarily block development of the tract.
The House already has voted to delay the lease sales off Florida and Alabama, so the conflict in the Interior Department's spending bill will have to be worked out between the two chambers.
The Senate voted 67-33 against an amendment offered by Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., who called the leases "the camel's nose under the tent" for broader oil and gas development in the currently off-limits eastern Gulf.
Last week, the Interior Department dramatically scaled back the lease sales, removing about three-fourths of the leases from auction so that drilling would be well beyond 100 miles of the Florida coast.
Republican Florida Gov. Jeb Bush strongly protested the original proposal, which would have allowed drilling within 17 miles of the Florida Panhandle. But the governor - and most Republicans - called the White House compromise a victory.
The vote was the second Senate showdown in two days over energy development. On Wednesday, the Senate voted to block gas, coal and oil development in federal monument areas.
The Gulf drilling had been characterized by the Republican leadership as essential to meet future energy needs. Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi called it a commonsense development of resources that would not harm the environment.
The vote reinforces the bipartisan consensus over the compromise adopted by the Bush administration on the Gulf drilling plans, said Interior Secretary Gale Norton. She called it "a victory for all Americans who want to see environmentally responsible energy production."
A handful of Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the lease sales. Sen. John Breaux, D-La., said the vote shouldn't be taken as "a trend in any direction" when it comes to broader energy legislation.
"Whether it means we're going to have more aggressive energy development in other areas, I doubt it," said Breaux, who has been a strong advocate of broader oil and gas development.
The attempt to block the Gulf plans frustrated Lott, who said the vote "may be the only vote on energy production we ... have the rest of this year."
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