Offshore drilling bill ‘decreases safety, increase Big Oil profits’

[Playinghardball]

Source: Raw Story

gas prices reach $4 per gallon, the House passed legislation Thursday that would allow offshore drilling to expand, but an environmental watchdog says the bill will not help bring down gas prices and would weaken government oversight.

"It’s astounding enough that the House would even consider expanding offshore drilling before implementing any of the recommended safeguards to prevent another disaster like the BP Deepwater Horizon spill," Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, said. "But doing so under the false premise that more drilling will somehow help consumers struggling with high gas prices today is simply misleading and wrong."

It would take at least seven or eight years before new drilling projects in the Gulf of Mexico or offshore Virginia had an effect on gas prices, according to the Associated Press.

More at: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/05/05/offshore-drilling-bill-decreases-safety-increase-big-oil-profits/