Bill uses oil leases to pay counties

WASHINGTON – Oregon Rep. Greg Walden has an idea he thinks will allow the government to continue a program that makes payments to rural counties hurt by federal cutbacks in logging: drill for oil off America’s coasts.

Walden, a Republican, says the plan would provide a stable, long-term funding source for the so-called county payments program while boosting domestic energy production. Eventually, the plan could help lower gasoline prices at the pump, Walden says.

A bill he introduced Friday would lift restrictions on offshore exploration for oil and natural gas and use revenue from lease sales to pay for the timber program and another program known as Payments in Lieu of Taxes, which compensates states and local governments for use of federal land.

The plan would bring at least $4.6 billion over five years for the two programs, and direct hundreds of millions of dollars in new spending for renewable energy and heating assistance for low-income families, Walden said.

“America’s Outer Continental Shelf contains enough oil to power 60 million cars for the next 60 years, yet more than 85 percent of the area off the continental United States cannot be accessed because of federal law,” he said.

The new bill, known as the Security and Energy for America Act, would allow oil companies to drill in waters 75 miles from U.S. coastlines, and allow states to permit drilling in areas closer than 75 miles in return for higher payments. States would control all development up to 12 miles offshore.

“The SEA Act will finally allow American companies to access American energy so we can stop writing billion-dollar checks to foreign cartels and governments that don’t like us very much,” Walden said.

Walden’s proposal is the latest in a string of bills and amendments offered by Republicans to expand offshore drilling as Americans struggle with $4-per-gallon gasoline prices.

Republicans in the House and Senate have been pressing to allow oil exploration in areas that are currently off limits, including the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. They have been relentless in their assault on Democrats over the topic, even though opening the Outer Continental Shelf to new exploration would not put any oil on the market for at least a decade.

Democratic leaders have been resolute in blocking new offshore exploration and point to 68 million acres of federal land and offshore sites now leased by oil companies that sit idle.

The timber program, known as the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act, expires this year. The law provides hundreds of millions of dollars to Oregon, Idaho and other states – mostly in the West – that once depended on federal timber sales to pay for schools, libraries and other services.

Lawmakers from both parties have tried for several years to salvage the program but have been unable to find a long-term solution. Dozens of counties in Oregon, California and other states have laid off employees to make up for an expected shortfall in federal funding.

Rep. Peter DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat who has worked with Walden to renew the rural schools law, called the latest proposal dead on arrival.

“It’s the Republican theme: more drilling offshore. I mean, come on,” DeFazio said. “This is the agenda of the Republicans. Guess what? They’re not in charge any more.”

An aide to Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski derided Walden’s proposal. Kulongoski, a Democrat, supports reauthorization of the timber program but believes it should not be tied to drilling, which he opposes, said spokeswoman Anna Richter Taylor.

“Congressman Walden should know when you drill yourself into a hole you should stop drilling,” she said.

DeFazio and other lawmakers said it was unlikely that Walden’s bill would come up for a floor vote in the Democratic-controlled House. The bill has 35 co-sponsors – all Republicans.

Walden, who introduced the bill minutes before Congress adjourned for a five-week summer break, conceded that the measure faces long odds.

But he speculated that the August recess may actually help the bill’s chances, as voters weary of high gas prices protest House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s refusal to allow a vote on drilling.