Bluey Blog - Official Blog of Robert B. Bluey

Drilling for Oil Off the Coast of Virginia

With the endorsement of Virginia’s Democrat governor and its two U.S. senators, the Bush Administration wants to begin oil and gas exploration off the coast of Virginia.

Environmentalists and congressional Democrats are already lining up against the plan, which will require approval from Congress. Despite the fact that Democrat Gov. Tim Kaine and Democrat Sen. Jim Webb favor the proposal, it faces long odds in the Democrat-controlled Congress.

My colleague at Heritage, Ben Lieberman, told me that although it will be difficult to open this patch off the Atlantic — which amounts to 3 million acres 50 miles from the coast — it’s a worthwhile effort on the part of the administration. He added, “The Bush administration should do everything it can to proceed with offshore energy production where the current law allows it.”

What’s frustrating about the Virginia plan is that Republicans and Democrats at the state level are in agreement. But radical environmentalists in Washington stand stridently opposed. House Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D.-W.Va.) and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D.-N.M.) would rather side with special interests than let Virginians have a share of the revenue from offshore drilling.