By Katarzyna Klimasinska
The Republican plan to allow oil exploration in U.S. waters off the Florida coast and in parts of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to help pay for road and bridge repairs advanced in the House Natural Resources Committee.
The panel led by Representative Doc Hastings, a Washington Republican, approved bills directing President Barack Obama’s administration to hold three offshore lease sales west of Florida Panhandle by the end of 2015. The Interior Department would expand leasing in Rocky Mountain oil-share formations and permit wells in about 3 percent of the Arctic refuge.
“By removing government barriers to American energy production, we can help fund road and bridge construction and repairs without raising taxes,” Hastings said today during debate on a measure to fund the Highway Trust Fund and create U.S. jobs. “This plan will expand access to our energy resources that are currently being kept under lock-and-key by the Obama administration.”
The trust fund, which finances U.S. road, bridge and mass- transit projects, may become insolvent before the November election unless lawmakers find additional funding. Republicans didn’t estimate revenue from increased oil production. Democrats say leases might raise $5 billion over 10 years.
As most revenue will come “years from now” and too late to meet current road-financing needs, the Republicans’ plan “make no sense in the long term and could be very damaging to the environment,” Representative Rush Holt, a Democrat from New Jersey, said during the committee’s debate in Washington.
October Deadline
The fund, which reimburses states for transportation projects, would be unable to meet its obligations as soon as October, according to an analysis of Congressional Budget Office data by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. The federal government could have to ration payments to the states to keep the fund solvent, according to the budget office analysis.
Obama and congressional Republicans have ruled out increasing the 18.4-cent-a-gallon vehicle-fuel tax, unchanged since 1993. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Obama’s deficit- reduction commission have recommended increasing the tax by as much as 15 cents a gallon.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, led by California Democrat Barbara Boxer, approved legislation for $109 billion in highway, bridge and mass-transit spending over two years. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, led by Representative John Mica, a Florida Republican, introduced a bill yesterday authorizing about $260 billion over five years.
Obama last week proposed funding infrastructure projects with money previously allotted to pay for wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Obama, discussing infrastructure and energy issues in his Jan. 24 State of the Union address, said American oil production is the highest in eight years and encouraged natural gas production on federal lands.
The bills are H.R. 3407, 3408 and 3410.