Sen. Ben Nelson said Wednesday he supports more domestic oil drilling, but questioned why oil companies aren't drilling at offshore locations they already lease in the Gulf of Mexico.
DON WALTON / Lincoln Journal Star | Posted: Tuesday, July 8, 2008 7:00 pm
Sen. Ben Nelson said Wednesday he supports more domestic oil drilling, but questioned why oil companies aren’t drilling at offshore locations they already lease in the Gulf of Mexico.
“They always want to drill where they don’t have a lease,” Nelson said.
“They always want to go where they aren’t.”
Nevertheless, he said, he is open to lifting the offshore drilling moratorium “in certain locations under certain circumstances.”
“What we want is oil pumped,” Nelson said during his weekly conference call from Washington.
“Why aren’t we pumping more oil? Does Congress need to provide an incentive to pump?”
Nelson, a Democrat, said he is working with a coalition of 10 senators to seek a bipartisan compromise on energy policy.
Later in the day, he and Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, sent a letter to President Bush urging him to convene a bipartisan national summit to develop a consensus energy plan.
“With energy prices skyrocketing and the costs to Americans getting more burdensome by the day, it is imperative that all elected officials work together to try and find common sense solutions — and fast,” Nelson said.
Nelson said he wants to establish “an energy policy roadmap” with a timeline for developing and conserving energy.
It would include development of alternative fuels and alternative power, including nuclear, wind, hydro and solar, he said.
“We should look at every option,” he said.
But Nelson said he does not support drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
ANWR “keeps being offered as a short-term alternative,” he said, when its impact would be 10 years away.
On other matters, Nelson said Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s desire to establish a timeline for withdrawal of U.S. combat troops is a positive development.
“They’re not ready for us to pull out tomorrow,” he said, but this is an indication that “they’re ready to move on.”
Nelson said he continues to support increased economic sanctions against Iran as a means of pressuring that country to abandon any nuclear weapons ambitions.
“The goal shouldn’t be to drop bombs on Iran,” he said. At the same time, he said, there must be a recognition that “we cannot permit Iran to become a nuclear power. Period.”
Iran’s newest missile test reflects “a mistaken view that shooting a few rockets up in the air (is) going to intimidate either Israel or the United States,” Nelson said.
“We don’t have to take the bait to do something militarily,” he said.
Reach Don Walton at 473-7248 or at dwalton@journalstar.com.