What Will Happen When the Offshore Drilling Ban Expires?

Faced with the threat of a presidential veto that would have shut down the federal government in the midst of an economic crisis, congressional Democrats reluctantly agreed to allow the offshore drilling ban to expire on September 30.

Renewal of the 26-year-old offshore drilling ban was included in the stopgap funding bill that is needed to keep the government afloat financially until a new president and Congress can take office and make a number of major spending decisions. President Bush had threatened to veto the bill unless any restrictions on offshore drilling were removed.

Now that the offshore drilling ban is set to expire, and the Republicans’ mantra of “drill, drill, drill” is another step closer to reality, there are still important questions that remain unanswered:

• What will happen when the offshore drilling ban expires?
• What effect will the loss of the offshore drilling ban have on the environment and the economy?
• What chance will there be of reinstating the offshore drilling ban when the next Congress convenes and a new president occupies the White House?

  Finding strategic solutions that will enable the United States to strengthen its economy and meet its energy needs without causing irreparable harm to the environment is one of the most important challenges facing the nation and its leaders today. Removing the offshore drilling ban and opening America's coastal waters to oil and gas exploration raises more questions than it answers.