The St. Petersburg Times
www.sptimes.com

House rebuffs White House on Fla. drilling
The GOP-controlled House sends a strong message to President Bush by voting 247-164 for a moratorium on new oil and gas exploration off the coast.

By BILL ADAIR and JOHN BALZ
June 22, 2001

Opponents of oil and gas drilling near Florida's coast won a surprising victory Thursday when the House of Representatives approved a six-month moratorium on new oil and gas leases near Pensacola.

Despite heavy lobbying against the proposal by the Bush administration, the House approved an amendment from Reps. Jim Davis, D-Tampa, and Joe Scarborough, R-Pensacola, that would prevent the Interior Department from signing new leases from Oct. 1 until April 1, 2002.

The amendment -- attached to a spending bill for the Interior Department -- would have a relatively minor effect on future leases. But the vote was a powerful signal that Florida has lots of allies in its fight against drilling in the gulf.

Bush administration lobbyists stood on the Capitol steps greeting lawmakers and urging them to oppose the Davis-Scarborough amendment. But it passed 247-164.

"I'm very encouraged," Davis said after the vote. "The White House was very heavily opposed to this. But the vast majority of Republicans and Democrats think we need a more balanced approach to energy policy than taking risks with our coasts."

"Unnnnbelievable," said Mark Ferrulo, the director of the Florida Public Interest Research Group. "It just sends the strongest message possible to President Bush that not only are Floridians opposed, but Americans are opposed."

An L-shaped tract known as Lease-Sale Area 181 has become the focal point in the debate about drilling near Florida's coast.

The Interior Department is proceeding with plans that started during the Clinton administration to sell oil and gas leases in Area 181. Congressional action and presidential orders have prevented new leases within about 100 miles of Florida's coast. But Area 181 was drawn to comply with those bans and satisfy the desires of Alabama and Louisiana officials who want more drilling in the gulf.

The top part of the "L" is only 30 miles from Pensacola, but it is in Alabama water west of the Florida state line. The bottom section is drawn so it remains at least 100 miles from Florida beaches. The bulk of the tract is about 200 miles west of the Pinellas coastline.

The controversy has been heightened because it has a brother versus brother angle.

Gov. Jeb Bush has been an opponent of the leases, but President Bush has been proceeding with plans to sell the oil and gas rights. A final decision by the White House is expected later this year.

The Interior Department is expected to complete a final environmental impact statement later this month and formally propose the sale of the leases in July. The sale was scheduled for December. If the Davis-Scarborough amendment is adopted by the Senate and the bill is signed by President Bush, all action would be delayed until April 1. But the administration could resume action after that.

In a spirited debate before the vote, members of the Florida delegation said the amendment would protect beaches that were crucial to the state's economy.

"We need oil rigs off the Florida beaches as much as we need crack houses next to our churches," said Rep. Ric Keller, R-Orlando.

Davis said the state's coastline was "truly a national treasure."

Opponents of the amendment rolled out their big guns.

Rep. Tom DeLay, the House majority whip, said the amendment "weakens our energy security" because it is important to find new sources of oil and natural gas.

DeLay, responding to Rep. Karen Thurman's charge that drilling would hurt the environment, said new oil platforms were environmentally sensitive.

"I say to the lady from Florida, the best fishing in the world is around these platforms," said DeLay, whose Houston district includes many oil company employees.

Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La., whose state is heavily dependent on oil production in the gulf, said drilling in Area 181 "can help us through a tremendous (energy) crisis we are about to face. Section 181 is critical."

Davis said the White House made a flurry of last-minute calls to lawmakers urging them to oppose the amendment. But it passed with support from 70 Republicans, 176 Democrats and one independent.

All members of the Florida delegation supported the amendment except Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park. He said the vote "was a purely political amendment with disastrous policy ramifications. It was politics at its worst."

Mica's brother is a lobbyist for the oil and gas industry, but Mica has said his brother has not lobbied him on the issue.

Rep. C.W. Bill Young, R-Largo, said the vote was a positive step, but he warned that the amendment was only a temporary fix. "Six months from now, I don't know where we go."