FDrill baby, drill

House OKs bill to hasten offshore oil, gas drilling

WASHINGTON — The Republican-controlled House passed the first of three bills Thursday aimed at speeding up offshore oil and gas drilling a year after the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

In a 266-149 vote that included 33 Democrats in its majority, the House approved a bill that would force the federal government to conduct three lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and one off the Virginia coast within a year, or by June 2012. Lease sales are the first step in a multiyear process that can culminate in drilling.

The Obama administration had postponed the sales after the massive Gulf oil spill, saying it needed time to conduct more thorough environmental reviews, to account for the blowout's effects on the Gulf ecosystem and to incorporate lessons learned.

Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., the House Natural Resources chairman and the bills' sponsor, said Thursday the legislation would reverse actions by the Obama administration that have blocked or hindered drilling at a time of rising gasoline prices.

"The pain being felt today has been exacerbated by the actions of the Obama administration," Hastings said. He said opening up more areas to drilling would send a signal to the world market that the U.S. is serious about reducing its dependence on foreign oil and lowering pump prices.

Hastings' two other measures - which would speed up decision-making on drilling permits and mandate that the government sell offshore leases where the greatest oil deposits are - are expected to be voted on next week.

None of the measures is likely to pass the Senate, where Democratic leaders are more focused on ending tax breaks received by profitable oil companies.