Oppose H.R. 4761, the Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act
06/27/06

U.S. House
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative:

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is the political voice of the national environmental community. Each year, LCV publishes the National Environmental Scorecard, which details the voting records of Members of Congress on environmental legislation. The Scorecard is distributed to LCV members, concerned voters nationwide, and the press.

LCV urges you to oppose H.R. 4761, the Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act. H.R. 4761 would immediately lift the bipartisan Congressional moratorium on offshore drilling that has protected the East and West Coasts of the United States as well as Florida’s Gulf Coast and Panhandle for twenty-five years. This drilling bill threatens our coasts with oil spills, exempts oil and gas companies from existing environmental protections, and undermines states’ rights to protect their coastlines.

In addition to posing harm to our coasts and our environment, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that H.R. 4761 would cost taxpayers $11 billion over the next ten years. And at a time when consumers are struggling with high energy bills, H.R. 4761 would hand billions of dollars in new giveaways to oil companies that are already enjoying record profits.

More than eighty percent of offshore oil and natural gas resources are already open to drilling, so H.R. 4761 clearly is not the answer to our energy problems. Instead of despoiling our shores, Congress should pursue faster, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly solutions, including making cars and trucks go further on a gallon of gasoline and increasing our use of clean, renewable energy like wind and solar power.

We urge you to protect our coasts and our environment by voting NO on H.R. 4761, the Deep Ocean Energy Resources Act, and instead of supporting real solutions to our energy problems.  LCV has scored votes related to protecting our coasts on numerous occasions in the past, and the Political Advisory Committee will strongly consider including this vote in compiling LCV's 2006 scorecard.  If you need more information, please call Tiernan Sittenfeld or Nat Mund at my office at (202) 785-8683. 

Sincerely,

Gene Karpinski
President, LCV