Energy/Environment

Alaska Republican Don Young on Wednesday charged that members of the Massachusetts delegation never vote to produce domestic energy other than "green" energy, and said this position does nothing to help reduce energy costs for drivers in Massachusetts.

"In Massachusetts alone, not one time has any one of your members in the Congress ever voted to produce energy, other than wind power and solar power," Young said. "That doesn't drive your constituents' automobiles. That doesn't drive your trucks that deliver your products to the restaurants and the hospitals. That doesn't drive that train that people ride to try to get automobiles off the road. It doesn't drive the ships that bring the products to your shores.

The House on Wednesday afternoon approved a rule for considering, H.R. 1231, the Reversing President Obama's Offshore Moratorium Act.

The rule was approved in a 243-179 vote. Only 10 Democrats voted with Republicans.

With the 3:15 p.m. vote, the House moved to debate the bill and was expected to also consider a series of amendments to the bill.

The House on Wednesday passed H.R. 1229, the Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act, which would restrict how long Department of the Interior could take to decide on Gulf drilling permits and codify certain safety requirements for drillers.

The bill was approved in a 263-163 vote after a debate in which several Democrats criticized the bill for failing to raise taxes on oil companies. In the end, 28 Democrats voted for the bill.

House Democrats on Wednesday continued what is likely to be an unsuccessful push to raise taxes on oil companies in the context of Republican bills aimed at making it easier for companies to drill for oil offshore of the United States.

The Democratic effort highlights what has been a running disconnect between the two parties since Republicans began calling up energy bills last week. Republicans argue that the three bills they are pursuing would help encourage drilling for oil and gas, which they say would signal the market in the short term that the U.S. is aggressively looking for its own energy supplies, and in turn help lower gasoline prices.

Rep. John Carter (R-Texas) dedicated an hour of floor time late Tuesday evening to lay out a case for why he believes President Obama's restrictions on energy production are responsible for high gas prices around the nation.

"We need to ask ourselves, why have the prices of gas gone up?"  Carter said. "It seems to me that part of the answer is that we have an administration that is hostile to this industry."

The House on Tuesday night rejected three Democratic amendments to a bill that would set firm deadlines by which the Department of the Interior would have to accept or reject Gulf of Mexico drilling permits.

The first amendment to H.R. 1229, from Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.), would require safety reviews of all drilling permits to ensure they comply with all safety and environmental laws. Republicans said this is duplicative and unnecessary, and it was rejected in a 167-245 vote in which three Republicans voted for it, and 15 Democrats voted against it.

Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) on Tuesday accused the Obama administration of favoring political allies when making decisions related to the granting of federal disaster aid.

In comments on the House floor, Gohmert cited the administration's decision not to declare Texas as a major disaster area due to wildfires there, and argued that this decision was based on politics.

"We know that you can have 500,000 acres burn and be a disaster area," Gohmert said. "You can have two million in Texas — they won't come to your help because this administration is partisan and bitterly so. But it's time for this administration to quit playing political games and help people where they need it in our own country, on our own coast."

Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) said Tuesday that the Obama administration had an "irrational" reaction to last year's Deepwater Horizon oil spill, by slowing oil drilling permits and hurting U.S. energy production and jobs.

"The cost of the irrational reaction by this administration to what is in essence a mechanical failure of a blowout preventer is horrific as measured in unemployed families, higher energy prices, lost business to shops throughout that region, and lost royalties to nation's Treasury," McClintock said on the House floor. "It's said that the economic damage done by this administration's response to the oil spill could be far greater than that done by the oil spill itself, and I believe it."

House Democrats on Tuesday indicated they would continue to press an alternative plan for lowering gas prices that relies not on more drilling for energy resources, but on reduced oil consumption and a shift to renewable energy.

"Energy independence is going to depend on reducing our oil consumption and shifting to domestic forms of energy like wind, solar, biofuels and gas," Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said on the House floor shortly after noon.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) signaled Monday that the Senate would soon turn to a controversial piece of legislation to do away with billions of dollars in tax breaks for large oil producers and increase breaks for clean-energy producers.

As Reid welcomed Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) to the Senate Monday afternoon. he noted the upper chamber would soon have opportunities to "make tough choices" and referred to the upcoming energy legislation.