Issue: H.R. 6082 Congressional Replacement of President Obamas Energy-Restricting and Job-Limiting Offshore Drilling Plan.

Result: Passed in House, 253 to 170, 8 not voting. Died in Senate. Democrats scored.

Bill Summary:  H.R. 6082 would replace President Obama’s Proposed Final Outer Continental Shelf Oil & Gas Leasing Program (2012-2017) with a leasing plan that incorporates all of the proposed 15 lease sales on an accelerated schedule, and adds an additional 14 lease sales in new areas of the Nation’s Outer Continental Shelf, including in the Atlantic and the Pacific.

Analysis:  For several decades, the Establishment Insiders and their child — the environmental movement have sought to inhibit America’s domestic energy development and increase our nation’s dependence on foreign oil.

However, in 2008 political pressure from escalating oil and gas prices caused the George W. Bush administration and Congress to overturn the two-decade long moratoria on new offshore drilling on most of the Outer Continental Shelf. It appeared that some relief was in sight.

However, the five-year leasing plan that the Secretary of the Interior was required to prepare under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act has been constantly trimmed and delayed.

Following a late submission by the Obama administration of a plan that did not include any new leasing areas, the House Committee on Natural Resources produced H.R. 6082 to correct the situation through legislative action.

Realistically, however, H.R. 6082 is pure posturing by the GOP as no one expected the measure to get by the Democrat-controlled Senate, let alone survive a presidential veto.   However, we score the House Democrats on their votes on H.R. 6082, giving credit to those 25 who stood against their party leadership.

We have assigned (good vote) to the Ayes and (bad vote) to the Noes. (P = voted present; ? = not voting; blank = not listed on roll call.)