A group of House Democrats are readying new pressure on the Obama administration to block Shell Oil’s plans to conduct exploratory drilling this summer in Arctic waters off Alaska’s coast.

Reps. Lois Capps (D-Calif.), Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) and Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) are circulating a letter that calls on President Obama to delay Shell’s plans until the causes of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill are known, and the administration has put in place “improved and rigorous prevention technology requirements.”

An aide to Inslee said that nearly 80 House members had signed on as of Thursday afternoon. The letter is slated to be sent later on Thursday, the aide said.

(Cross posted from Hillicon Valley)

"We never have, and we never will" place profits above safety, the Massey CEO said Thursday.

A deal struck between House and Senate Democrats on a wide-ranging tax package would make more money available from a federal oil-spill trust fund and increase an oil industry tax that feeds the fund.

The oil deal, which embraces the thrust of a White House proposal, would raise the cap on expenditures from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund above the current $1 billion level. The fund is used for cleanup costs and damages.

A summary circulated by the House Ways and Means Committee Thursday says the bill would either increase or eliminate the $1 billion cap.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that Congress, not the Obama administration, needs to address global warming.

The House Education and Labor Committee could get new investigative powers Thursday as it probes coal mining safety in the wake of the April 5 explosion at West Virginia’s Upper Big Branch mine that killed 29 workers.

A resolution expected on the House floor Thursday afternoon would give committee investigators authority to compel formal depositions.

A committee spokesman said the panel was granted the same powers when it investigated the fatal 2007 accident at Utah’s Crandall Canyon mine.

* Scientists blast administration for what it doesn't know about oil spill

Oceanographers are criticizing the Obama administration for not pressing hard enough to investigate the scope of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill or the damage it is causing, according to The New York Times.

"They are especially concerned about getting a better handle on problems that may be occurring from large plumes of oil droplets that appear to be spreading beneath the ocean surface.

"The scientists point out that in the month since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, the government has failed to make public a single test result on water from the deep ocean. And the scientists say the administration has been too reluctant to demand an accurate analysis of how many gallons of oil are flowing into the sea from the gushing oil well."

Read more...

Over in our Blog Briefing Room, Michael O'Brien writes about a new TV ad designed to boost Senate climate legislation by highlighting GOP ties to the oil industry.