Vitter Urges President to Open More Areas to Drilling

Posted: Sep 22, 2009 7:51 AM by sleonard

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - U.S. Sen. David Vitter is urging the Obama administration not to delay opening up more offshore areas to oil and natural gas drilling.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is reviewing a sweeping blueprint for expanded offshore drilling proposed in the final days of the Bush administration. He hasn't ruled out expanded offshore
drilling, but he has criticized "the enormous sweep" of the Bush proposal.
On Monday, Vitter and two other Republican senators introduced an amendment to an appropriations bill for the Interior Department prohibiting the department from delaying expansion plans.
Vitter says prohibitions on offshore drilling expired last year "allowing us to move ahead with a more sensible approach to gas and energy exploration ... Any further delay would stall that progress."

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Topics: oil, david vitter, president, barack, obama, drilling, louisiana, bush administration, offshore, natural gas, gas, energy