The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed the first of three bills aimed at speeding up offshore oil and gasoline drilling, a year after the largest offshore oil spill in U.S. history. In a 266 to 149 vote, the House of Representatives approved legislation that would force the federal government to conduct three lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and one off the Virginia coast within a year, or by June 2012. Lease sales are the first step in a multiyear process that can result in drilling. Representative Richard Hastings (Republican from Washington), the House Natural Resources chairman and the bill's sponsor, said the legislation would reverse actions by the Obama administration that have blocked drilling at a time of rising gasoline prices. The two other measures-which would speed up decision-making on drilling permits and mandate that the government sell offshore leases where the greatest oil deposits are-are expected to be voted on next week. None of the three measures are likely to pass the Senate, where Democratic leaders are more focused on ending tax cuts received by profitable oil companies.
