Bush Rescinds Father's Offshore Oil Ban

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Bush Lifts Executive Ban on Offshore Drilling

Putting pressure on congressional Democrats to back more exploration for oil, President Bush on Monday lifted an executive ban on offshore drilling that has stood since his father was president.

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"It's been almost a month since I urged Congress to act, and they've done nothing," Bush said. "As the Democratically controlled Congress has sat idle, gas prices have continued to increase."

Marine sanctuaries would remain off limits under President Bush's new memo. Coastal Alaska is already open to exploration, and many longtime leases remain off California and elsewhere.

The moratorium on offshore drilling has been popular across parties, and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) supports it. But White House press secretary Dana Perino said some Democrats "are starting to change their position" in part because of escalating gas prices.

On Capitol Hill, Republicans tried to foment unrest among rank-and-file Democrats. Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-N.M.) ridiculed Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid, who has proposed targeting oil speculators as a way to restrain prices rather than proceeding with a vote on the Republican plan. That plan would give states a share of federal oil royalties and the flexibility to allow deep-sea drilling off their coasts.

"His proposal is not a road map, it's a roadblock," said Domenici, the top Republican on the energy committee.

Republicans are backing a proposal that would allow for more drilling and more funding for renewable energy resources. "We say 'Yes, we can' to finding more. We say 'Yes, we can' to using less," said Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), borrowing a phrase Obama has made a signature of his presidential campaign.

Since gasoline topped $4 a gallon earlier this year, some Democrats have reconsidered their positions on drilling. This has spawned bipartisan working groups of House and Senate lawmakers hoping to craft a centrist solution to soaring energy prices.

But key Democrats continue to oppose the drilling effort. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) called Bush's announcement "a false promise that simply won't deliver" the benefits claimed by the administration. Feinstein said it would take at least seven years under the best circumstances to begin drilling in areas currently under a moratorium and that the risk of environmental accidents is too great.

"There simply are no good or easy options to bring prices down," Feinstein said. "Instead, what we need is a long-term solution that will reduce America's reliance on fossil fuels."

Technically, Congress could lift its moratorium simply by failing to renew it as required at the start of each fiscal year, officials said. But the White House says new legislation is also needed to make sure that neighboring states can share in lease revenues and have a say in how exploration would go forward.

Staff writer Paul Kane contributed to this report.