The president believes Congress shouldn't waste any more time," White House press secretary Dana Perino told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
"He will explicitly call on Congress to ... pass legislation lifting the congressional ban on safe, environmentally friendly offshore oil drilling," Perino said. "He wants to work with states to determine where offshore drilling should occur."
Bush also will reiterate his call for development of oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, Perino said. McCain has opposed drilling in the refuge, maintaining that the pristine areas in northeastern Alaska should be protected from energy development.
On Monday, McCain made lifting the federal ban on offshore oil and gas development a key part of his energy plan. The Arizona senator said states should be allowed to pursue energy exploration in waters near their coasts and receive some of the royalty revenue. -- AP
Drilling in Alaska, due to it's small size and the small volume of oil is equivalent to tapping into our Strategic Petroleum Reserves and is more plunder of America's treasure by this short-sighted Bush/Cheney administration and will leave America without a strategic reserve and less capable to respond in the future to any emergency situation that might arise.
Yet another thoughtless, and risky plan from the man with the reverse midas touch. Is there any doubt this will profit his oil buddies and not the American people, leaving America weaker and less secure.
We should be thinking of real solutions and not recycled political stunts from the 70's
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