"Barack Obama Moves To Expand Oil And Gas Drilling"

"President Barack Obama is looking to bolster U.S. oil drilling, announcing Saturday a preemptive strike against bolder efforts from Capitol Hill as consumer unrest deepens over the price at the pump.

The White House will move forward without congressional action on a set of ideas espoused by Republicans and oil-state Democrats to expand oil-and-gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska and potentially parts of the Atlantic seaboard.

It’s the closest Obama has come to rivaling his short-lived, pro-drilling stance that ended with the BP oil spill.
At the same time, Obama is also firing up the liberal Democratic base by urging Congress to repeal billions of dollars in oil-industry tax incentives and to raise fees against companies that do not act quickly on drilling leases they own."

Darren Goode reports for Politico May 14, 2011.

SEE ALSO:

"U.S. House votes To Speed Permitting of Offshore Oil And Gas Drilling" (New Orleans Times-Picayune)

"Obama Shifts to Speed Oil and Gas Drilling in U.S." (New York Times)