Chet Edwards For Congress

Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Offshore drilling bill heads to Senate

By Regina Dennis | Waco Tribune Herald

An offshore drilling bill is up for a vote in the Senate after it was passed late Tuesday by the House.

The bill, which was approved in the House by a vote of 236 to 189, would expand domestic offshore drilling along the eastern coast of the United States. It also would allow access to 10 percent of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, an emergency supply of crude oil stored along the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico, releasing 70 million barrels of oil to be sold on the market.

U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Waco), who serves on the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, supported the legislation as a means of lowering energy and fuel costs.

"The fact is that releasing oil from the SPR is a proven way to drive down oil prices quickly," Edwards said in a press release. "By dramatically increasing the supply of oil on the market, we will drive down the price of oil, with is being kept superficially high by oil speculators."

The bill also provides tax breaks to companies in the wind and solar energy industries, and developers of biofuels and new energy efficiency programs.