Times-Standard -House GOP passes drill bill; Thompson opposed bill, fears of drilling on North Coast

The Republican-controlled House easily passed the last of three bills Thursday to expedite and expand domestic oil and gas drilling over the objections of Congressman Mike Thompson, who argued the bills would open portions of his North Coast district to offshore drilling.

The bill passed Thursday, House Resolution 1231, would automatically open the Southern California, the entire Atlantic Coast, the Arctic Ocean and Alaska's Bristol Bay for leasing by oil companies. Thompson believes it has the potential to open portions of Northern California to drilling as well.

"There may be enough oil off the North Coast to make oil companies billions of dollars in profits, but there is nowhere near enough to change the reality or our national energy challenges, or outweigh the serious risks to North Coast communities," Thompson said in a press release. "H.R. 1231 is beyond misguided -- it is a disaster in the making. I voted against this bill because I refuse to let what happened in the Gulf of Mexico be a possibility on the coast of California."

While the trio of bills easily passed the Republican-controlled House, none is likely to gain traction in the Senate and all are opposed by President Barack Obama's administration, making Thursday's vote largely a symbolic act for the GOP.

The bills cover some of the same areas that Obama's administration pulled back on leasing after last year's Gulf oil spill to allow for further evaluations of environmental consequences of drilling.

The bill directs the Interior Department to select lease areas based on how much oil and gas they contain.

The House votes came the same day as oil company executives argued their case to the Senate Finance Committee that the industry should keep some $4.4 billion in federal tax breaks while reaping profits projected to reach $200 billion this year.

Obama and congressional Democrats argue that eliminating the tax breaks would help with the deficit and lower gas prices by making alternative energy sources more competitive. Oil industry advocates and many congressional Republicans say just the opposite, arguing that the tax breaks decrease the cost of doing business and, consequently, prices at the pump.