Bishop pushes for lowered offshore drilling restrictions

It was a bit unusual for the chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus to testify at a hearing about oil and gas drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf off the Atlantic coast, but Rep. Rob Bishop said he did that Monday because rules on coastal drilling may affect oil development in the West, too.

"Just as I believe that the views of the Western states should be given greater say in how federal lands are managed within their borders, I also believe coastal states should have the ability to determine whether to allow drilling on adjacent offshore lands," said Bishop, R-Utah, chairman of the Western caucus.

That came in testimony in Atlantic City, N.J., before a regional hearing held Monday by the Mineral Management Service to discuss the future of offshore energy development on the Outer Continental Shelf.

"I would sincerely hope that my Eastern colleagues would grant to their Western friends the same deference and respect when it comes to onshore federal lands," he said.

Bishop said that maybe the best economic stimulus for the country would be to end restrictions on oil and gas development in the Outer Continental Shelf.

"Opening the OCS to balanced and environmentally responsible development is a key step towards unleashing our nation's vast energy resources and could be the best medicine we have available to jump-start the job creation and economic growth this country so desperately needs," he testified.

Bishop added, "For nearly three decades, the federal government has denied access to billions of barrels of oil and trillions of cubic feet of natural gas in the OCS. Given our current economic situation, it is more important than ever that the federal government allow access to all offshore oil and natural-gas supplies as soon as all necessary environmental protections have been put in place."

Bishop also said, "Federal offshore waters hold the greatest potential for finding and bringing new energy resources to market in the next five to 10 years. Developing new supplies of oil and natural gas in America is essential to economic growth and to our nation's energy security."

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