Twice derailed in Congress, a new energy bill is now being debated in the Senate. And the iron is hot. Americans revving up for summer travel face record-high gas prices and a growing distaste for dependency on foreign oil.
One of the most controversial parts of the measure is the bill’s proposal to lift a decades-old ban on offshore drilling. For a while it looked like opposition from Florida’s senators might derail that provision — until a deal was struck that would protect that state’s coast, and its $57 billion tourist trade.
But other coastal states support lifting the ban — as long as they receive a split share of oil and gas revenues. And people in the oil industry say the boost to domestic fuel production would help wean the country off the Saudi spigot. Environmentalists argue there’s a better way. Drilling deep, but in whose back yard?
Guests:
Wes Allison, Washington Bureau Chief for The St. Petersburg Times
Lee Fuller, VP of Government Relations with the Independent Petroleum Association of America
Debbie Boger, Deputy Legislative Director of The Sierra Club.