JEFFREY: Pedaling no-gas options

Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives sent a message last week to hard-working commuters forced to pay historically high prices for gasoline: Ride a bike.

The message was buried on page 255 of a 290-page bill the Democratic leadership introduced at 9:45 p.m. last Monday night, forced through the Rules Committee at 10:00 p.m., and put up for a “debate” and final vote - with no amendments allowed - on Tuesday evening.

Section 827 of the bill defines the “Transportation Fringe Benefit to Bicycle Commuters.”

It says: “The term ‘qualified bicycle commuting reimbursement’ means, with respect to any calendar year, any employer reimbursement during the 15-month period beginning with the first day of such calendar year for reasonable expenses incurred by the employee during such calendar year for the purchase of a bicycle and bicycle improvements, repair and storage, if such bicycle is regularly used for travel between the employee’s residence and place of employment.”

Bottom line: Employers could count as a deductible business expense a tax-free $20 monthly reimbursement to workers who bike to work.

Meanwhile, the bill, as explained to me by Republican congressional sources who combed through it in the hours before and after it passed, would effectively outlaw development of America’s vast offshore oil resources.

Let me give you two alternative scenarios.

Under Scenario No. 1, as the law now stands, the moratorium on selling new offshore oil-drilling leases on 85 percent of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) will expire in less than two weeks. That is because the moratorium is part of the fiscal 2008 Interior Department appropriation, which expires Sept. 30.

After that date, Interior could begin preparations to sell new offshore oil leases, a process that under existing laws takes two years.

Unless President Bush or the next president signs a new law extending the offshore oil-drilling ban past Sept. 30, Interior would be able to sell leases for any part of the U.S. OCS that is more than 3 miles off the beach. (The first 3 miles are state territory, except on the Gulf coasts of Texas and Florida, where state control extends to 9 miles.)

Anti-drilling forces would still have two shots at killing these leases. First, the governor of the state off whose shores the leases sit could appeal to the interior secretary under a provision of the OCS Lands Act. Under this provision, the secretary would have to balance the national interest in drilling against the state’s interest in not drilling, and then make a ruling.

If the interior secretary rules in favor of drilling, any American could then sue in federal court claiming his determination was incorrect. This suit, however, would be expedited to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which has special jurisdiction in such cases. If Interior prevailed in court, drilling could go forward.

Now, here’s Scenario No. 2, which would unfold if the bill passed by the House last week were to become law: States would still control the OCS to 3 miles offshore, but all drilling would be permanently banned by federal statue from 3 miles out to 50 miles out.

The federal government also would be prohibited from selling oil drilling leases on the federal OCS from 50 miles out to 100 miles out unless the legislature and governor of the adjacent state enacted a law specifically allowing the sale of federal leases on this federal territory. Because the House-passed bill makes no provision for sharing the federal royalties from these leases with the states, the states would have no financial incentive to enact such legislation.

Further, even if a state did enact such a law, the House-passed bill empowers governors from neighboring states to object under the provision of the OCS Lands Act if any point on their state’s coastline is within 100 miles of the proposed drilling.

Story Continues →