The House late Tuesday approved a bill that legislation that would open more offshore areas for oil and oil and natural gas drilling, pending states’ approval, the Associated Press reported.
The measure, which passed by a 236-189 vote and also allows tax credits for biofuels development, now moves the Senate for consideration, AP said.
So far, the Senate has indicated it will not go as far as the House in expanding drilling beyond the western Gulf of Mexico, where energy companies have been pumping oil and gas for decades, AP reported.
At least two proposals being crafted in the Senate would allow drilling in some areas along the southern Atlantic from Virginia to Georgia. But the Pacific coast and remainder of the Atlantic seaboard would not be affected, AP said.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he may allow a vote on a broader Republican proposal that would allow states to explore offshore from New England to the Pacific Northwest and share in any royalties collected, AP reported.
Congress has renewed bans on drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and the eastern Gulf of Mexico off Florida annually for the past 26 years, AP said.
