The Republican controlled House of Representatives recently passed the final three bills to speed up and expand oil and gas drilling around the country. In particular, the bills opened up areas off of Virginia's coast for oil and gas exploration.
On Thursday, the bills passed on a 243-179 vote. The House bills direct the Interior Department to choose areas based upon how much oil and gas they contain.
The bills come as a response to the Obama administration's "pulling of the cord" on leases for oil and gas exploration off the coast of Virginia after the Gulf Oil spill. New leases were not to be given out until the environmental consequences of the spill in the Gulf became more fully known.
Fortunately, these House bills will face a difficult time in the Democratically-controlled Senate.
A striking issue about these decisions to drill for oil and gas off of Virginia's coast is it is not clear that Virginian's are even supportive of these measures.
Observing that we live in a Republic, it would seem logical to assume that if the people of Virginia don't want to risk another Gulf Oil spill off of their shorelines, they shouldn't have to.
But the Republican-controlled House and the McDonnell administration consistently wish to impose their parochial will on the people of Virginia.
This is not what the people want, however. Virginian's want cheap and plentiful sources of energy, but not at the costs of human and environmental health. |
