House GOP raps energy impasse

Democrats have remained steadfast in their opposition to Republican calls to expand offshore drilling, open the Alaska for oil exploration, and lift a moratorium on oil-shale production.

But Democrats insist they aren’t against expanded drilling, saying oil companies already hold leases on 68 million acres in the West and western Gulf of Mexico that they’re not using.

Democrats add that Republican proposals to drill on protected lands would result in a savings of only 2 cents per gallon of gas 10 years from now.

“While a very small band of your colleagues remain on the House floor to discuss gas prices, their constituents deserve to know why their representatives in Congress have failed to support serious, responsible [energy] proposals,” Mrs. Pelosi wrote to Mr. Boehner last week. “Americans deserve real solutions, not rhetoric.”

Republicans say they too support the development of alternative energy sources such as wind, solar and biofuels, and other Democratic priorities such as plug-in electric cars. But a central component of any comprehensive energy plan, Republicans insist, also must include more drilling.

“There are lots of options, and drilling for oil is not the silver bullet,” America. We must explore now.”