Bill Nelson and Mel Martinez seem determined to bring up drilling off Florida again.

[madfloridian]

The House chose not to vote on the bill allowing drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. However, my Senator Bill Nelson seems to be intent on continuing pressure to bring the bill forward. Since Landrieu and Bingaman, both Democrats, agree so strongly....could it be the bill will be pushed again by our own Democrats?

I am trying to understand Bill Nelson's utter obsession with getting this done. BTW I am proud of Ron Klein and Tim Mahoney for speaking up already against the bill.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/politics/content/nation/epaper/2006/12/05/a8a_drilling_1205.html

WASHINGTON —

Congressmen-elect Ron Klein and Tim Mahoney urged their soon-to-be colleagues Monday to reject a bill allowing for limited oil and gas drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

Meanwhile, Florida's two senators, Democrat Bill Nelson and Republican Mel Martinez, urged the bill's passage.

Nelson spokesman Bryan Gulley said Nelson's staff has been pushing the bill in discussions with House staffers from Florida. Gulley said Democratic control of Congress does not mean there won't be pressure to drill in the gulf. He pointed to recent statements by incoming Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., and Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., urging more exploration in the gulf.

Gulley called the Senate bill a "hard-won compromise" and "the best deal we could probably get."

And an editorial in The Ledger points out that some will be showing their true colors since the election November 7 if they keep pursuing this now. And Bill Nelson is keeping on.

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061205/NEWS/612050325/1036

Then came Nov. 7. The Democrats gained enough seats to take control of both houses of Congress. Moreover, Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., the chairman of the House Resources Committee and a proponent of all-out drilling for the Gulf of Mexico, was defeated. Now that the list of players has changed, some environmentalists are urging Florida's delegation to back off the Senate agreement, reasoning the threat to offshore drilling has subsided.

"It's going to show people's true colors," Mark Ferrulo, executive director of Environment Florida, told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. "Now that the compromised will no longer be a necessity, we're going to see where these members really stand when it comes to protecting Florida's Gulf waters from drilling."

But neither Nelson nor Martinez are comfortable that doing nothing is a good alternative. "If nothing passes," said Martinez in a statement, "drilling could begin next year with no additional protections for Florida."

And Nelson's office pointed out Monday that the incoming chairman of the Senate Energy and National Resources Committee, doesn't seem interested in limiting oil drilling in the Gulf. On Friday, Congressional Quarterly reported that the incoming chairman, Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., criticized the Senate bill "not because it allows new drilling, but because it protects too much territory off the Florida coast from future exploration."

Please someone explain what is meant when Nelson and Martinez say that doing nothing is not ok. What do they mean that drilling will begin if the Senate version of the bill is not passed. Has drilling already been approved, what do they mean?

This is part of that version.

The Senate version also expands drilling, but in a far more limited fashion. It would allow drilling in about 8.3 million acres in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, Most of the Florida coastline would have a 125-mile buffer against drilling rigs, and the state's West Coast beaches would be protected to a line 235 miles out.

Seems our Democrats are just as much into drilling in the Gulf as the Republicans are/were. Maybe I am reading it wrong.

[madfloridian]

1. Great statement by Klein and Mahoney about energy...

"In a joint statement, Klein, a Democrat from Boca Raton, and Mahoney, a Democrat from Palm Beach Gardens, said: "Granting oil and gas companies access to our coastline is not the solution to our energy crisis. The current leases that oil and gas companies enjoy with the assistance of taxpayer dollars are far from exhausted. Allowing drilling off our coastline is simply a way for oil and gas companies to maximize profits.

"Such actions will have no effect on either the cost of gas or on the future of our energy needs. The projected energy produced by drilling in this area would only meet the energy needs of Floridians for two years."

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/politics/content/nation/epaper/2006/12/05/a8a_drilling_1205.html

[madfloridian]

2. Even after the bill was dropped by House, looks like Nelson still interested.

Has it already been determined that there will be drilling in the Gulf? What is Martinez meaning?

I just don't understand why he and Martinez are so eager. They appear to be worried that fellow Democrat Bingaman wants no restrictions in the Gulf at all.

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/16173495.htm

"The measure, which the Senate passed last summer, would open 8.3 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico to drilling, which supporters say should increase a much-needed supply of natural gas. The legislation gained the support of Florida's two senators because it would keep oil rigs at least 250 miles from the state's west coast and 125 miles off the Panhandle. It also provides a bigger buffer, Martinez said, than the federal government has provided in a similar drilling plan.

"There's going to be activity in the Gulf," Martinez said. "But the bill provides Florida with a better zone of protection. It's the very best for Florida at this point."

A spokesman for U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said it is the state's best interest for Congress to pass the proposal.

"For those that say we are better off by not passing anything, they could be mistaken because incoming chairman of the Senate Energy Committee (Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M.) said he didn't like the Senate bill because it gave too many protections for Florida," said press secretary Bryan Gulley."