The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to approve a measure intended to jump-start drilling off Virginia's coast.
It passed on a 266-149 vote, with 33 Democrats in the majority. Lease sales are the first step in a multiyear process that can culminate in drilling.
The Virginia delegation broke on party lines — eight Republicans voted in favor and three Democrats were opposed.
The Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act would direct the secretary of the interior to conduct offshore oil and gas lease sales off the state's coast within one year of the bill's enactment. It also would trigger lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico but exclude any tract off Virginia that would conflict with military operations.
Virginia's lease sale was scheduled for this year but delayed until at least 2017 after the April-July 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the worst offshore spill in U.S. history.
The bill was the first of three House measures meant to speed up drilling. None of the three is likely to pass the Senate, where Democratic leaders are more focused on ending tax breaks received by oil companies.
House Democrats mounted an unsuccessful attempt Thursday to force their own vote on repealing billions of dollars in subsidies for the five biggest oil companies.
Lawmakers also rejected an amendment backed by the three Democratic members of Virginia's U.S. House delegation that would have strengthened the military's role in determining if drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf would affect its operations.
Reps. Gerald E. Connolly, D-11th, James P. Moran, D-8th, and Robert C. "Bobby" Scott, D-3rd, argued in favor of an amendment that they said would have ensured the protection of national security.
Scott said on the House floor, "I've had long reservations about drilling off the coast of Virginia."
"I believe the environmental, economic and national security risks for that drilling far outweigh any potential benefits. But if drilling will occur, this amendment will ensure that common sense and responsible process will be in place to safeguard against obvious negative consequences to our military, to our NASA and to port operations," he said.
But Republicans said the measure would boost the economy.
"Rising gas prices remain a top concern for the people of the 5th District," Rep. Robert Hurt, R-5th, said in a statement.
"Today, House Republicans took action to help reduce the pain at the pump. By expanding our domestic energy production and supply, we will take a significant step towards lowering gas prices, reducing our dependence on foreign oil, and creating thousands of jobs for the commonwealth."
Republicans argued that Gov. Bob McDonnell supports the lease sale and that even the state's senators, both Democrats, have gotten behind the idea in the past. That said, this bill's fate is less certain in the Senate.
Kevin Hall, a spokesman for Sen. Mark R. Warner, D-Va., said the senator "supports development of offshore energy resources sooner rather than later, but he believes it should be done responsibly, incorporating lessons learned from the gulf spill and being conducted in a way that does not disrupt military activities that are conducted off the Virginia coast."
Last month, Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., urged the Obama administration to include Virginia in its five-year lease plan and to revise its lease map, saying that it places unfair limitations on Virginia's offshore resources.
"As gas prices rise, in part due to America's dependence on foreign oil, we must pursue robust energy policies that include the expansion of our domestic energy resources in a safe and secure manner, as well as conservation and clean energy measures," Webb said.
"Opening up more of the nation's Outer Continental Shelf resources to responsible natural gas and oil exploration should be a priority."
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The Associated Press
contributed to this report.
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