Reid rejects Bush call to lift drilling moratorium

Tag : offshore oil

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, aNevada Democrat, on Monday rejected a call by U.S. President GeorgeW. Bush to lift a moratorium on offshore oil drilling.
Bush announced on Monday that he lifted the executive branch'srestriction on offshore exploration, saying only Congress stood inthe way of opening up America's untapped oil riches.
But Reid said oil companies should focus instead on drilling onmuch of the 68 million acres that they have leased but not used forexploration.
Asked, however, if he expected to have the votes to blocklegislation to lift the moratorium in face of soaring gasolineprices, Reid told a news conferences, "We will have to wait andsee."
Reid said he hoped to have legislation introduced this week tocrack down on oil speculators.
On the other side of the Capitol, Rep. Edward Markey, aMassachusetts Democrat, mocked Bush's call earlier in the day tolift the ban.
"The Bush oil policy is an attempt at mass deception by a WhiteHouse that has, for the last seven and a half years, pursued BigOil's agenda of drill, drill, drill," Markey, chairman of a selectHouse of Representatives committee on energy independence, told anews conference.
"Drill, drill, drill has failed, failed, failed," Markey said. "Ithas failed to make America energy independent. It has failed toprevent rising prices at the pump."
(Reporting by Thomas Ferraro; Editing by Russell Blinch andChristian Wiessner)