Senate Approves Oil, Gas Drilling In Gulf of Mexico
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
WASHINGTON — The Senate voted yesterday to open 8.3 million acres of federal waters in the central Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling, setting up a confrontation with the House, which wants even more drilling in waters now off-limits.
Supporters said the measure would be a big step toward producing more domestic energy and forcing down natural gas prices that have soared in recent years.
The Senate approved the measure by a vote of 71–25. It now must be reconciled with much broader drilling legislation passed by the House in June.Those negotiations are likely to begin in September.
