Pelosi’s Cautious Reaction to White House Plan to Expand Offshore Drilling
In the summer of 2008, with gas prices through the roof and Republicans calling for an expansion of offshore oil drilling, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a vocal proponent of renewable energies, called the drilling strategy “a cruel hoax on the American people.”
What a difference a year and a half can make.
With President Obama today proposing to loosen the ban on offshore drilling, Pelosi just issued a statement that largely eludes the topic altogether. She applauds, for example, tomorrow’s scheduled announcement to finalize vehicle fuel-efficiency standards. And she celebrates (without specifics) the Democrats’ efforts “to lower our nation’s dependence on foreign oil.” Only afterward does she get into the drilling controversy. It’s not quite the same tone she used with the Republicans:
“„The Obama Administration’s initiative regarding drilling on public lands must ensure that any offshore and onshore plan proceeds in an environmentally and fiscally responsible manner. Taxpayers who own these resources have been historically shortchanged from the huge profits received from drilling on public lands, and must receive a fair return in the future.
