The debate in Congress over off-shore drilling splits mostly along party lines. Pro and con. Black and white. Judging by his votes on a series of bills this week, Nashville Democrat Jim Cooper sees more shades of gray.
This week Congressman Jim Cooper went against most of his fellow Democrats and voted to open a new area off the coast of Virginia to oil drilling. But he voted with his party against a bill that would speed the permitting process for offshore oil and gas production. That bill lacked the regulatory safeguards Cooper is looking for.
“I think we need more oil drilling, but it needs to be safely done. The BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico was a national nightmare.”
The House has yet to vote on a third off-shore oil bill. This one is based on an inventory of the Outer Continental Shelf that identifies areas that have the most oil and gas; it would require the administration to allow drilling in at least half of those areas. For now, Cooper is officially ‘undecided’ on how he’ll vote on that one.
The debate now moves from the GOP-controlled house to the Senate, which is lead by Democrats. The Senate is likely to reject the offshore permitting bills and instead promote legislation stripping the oil industry of tax breaks and other incentives.
Tennessee Republican Bob Corker says if the oil industry loses tax breaks, other industries should too. He contends Democrats are playing a political game.
“We understand that this isn’t about getting anything done, this is about people standing in front of some oil company signs and doing thing that, you know, are good politics.”
Senator Lamar Alexander, also a Republican, agrees that oil companies should not lose tax breaks other industries get.
The incentives rollback will be the subject of a Senate Finance Committee hearing today. Executives from five major oil companies are scheduled to appear.
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