On The Day the President Visits FloridaÆs Panhandle, League of Conservation Voters Launches New Television Ad Criticizing BushÆs Support for Drilling 30 Miles From Pensacola

Contact: Chuck Porcari (cell: (240) 286-7566) or Mark Sokolove (cell: (703) 599-7656) or (202) 785-8683

WASHINGTON D.C. - The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) today announced that it will launch a new television ad in Florida tomorrow calling on President Bush to come clean about his position on offshore oil drilling. In 2001, President Bush supported a plan to allow drilling a mere 30 miles from Pensacola - but this election year he has tried to hide the truth and tell voters of Florida a different story. The ad coincides with the presidentÆs visit to FloridaÆs Panhandle on Tuesday.

"When President Bush visits Pensacola and other Panhandle communities, he should explain to citizens why he supported drilling 30 miles from the coast," said Mark Longabaugh, LCV Senior Vice President for Political Affairs. "He should also explain why he supported an energy bill that could ultimately open hundreds of oil leases in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico to drilling."

"Offshore oil drilling threatens the beauty of Florida beaches, threatens property values, threatens the tourist economy - and threatens precious coastal environments and wildlife. So why would President Bush support drilling 30 miles from FloridaÆs coast? Maybe itÆs because he cares more about his friends in the oil industry than he does about the citizens of Pensacola and Panama City," added Longabaugh.

LCVÆs new television ad, titled "Drilling," provides the facts about the presidentÆs position, stating, "President Bush supported drilling within 30 miles of Pensacola. And heÆs supported an energy bill that could lead to even more."

The facts are indisputable. On April 27, 2004, St. Petersburg Times said, "President Bush was aiming [to drill] within 30 miles of the Florida Panhandle before ceding to an avalanche of criticism." And, according to the National Journal (March 17, 2004) President Bush supported the Energy Bill conference report, which provided broad new authority for the Department of Interior to permit energy development and to support facilities anywhere on the Outer Continental Shelf, including areas currently under a moratorium.

Longabaugh continued, "In April during a trip to Rookery Bay Reserve, FL, Mr. President, you tried to imply that you had always opposed drilling off FloridaÆs coast. That is simply not true. You supported drilling 30 miles from Pensacola and you supported an energy bill that could open hundreds of leases to drilling."

Attached is a script (PDF) and link to a Real Player version of the ad, which runs from Tuesday morning through Friday in the Pensacola/Mobile, AL and Panama City markets.

See the ad (Real Player)

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The nonprofit League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is the political voice of the national environmental and conservation community. LCV, which is not a partisan organization, is the only national organization working full-time to hold Congress and the president accountable for their environmental actions. For more information, please visit us on the web at www.lcv.org.