Cardin wants new drilling 'off the table' in Senate's energy bill

Cardin wants new drilling 'off the table' in Senate's energy bill
By Michael O'Brien - 05/03/10 07:40 AM ET

Senators working on an energy and climate bill should take off the table provisions that expand offshore drilling, one Democratic senator suggested Monday.

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said that the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico should force lawmakers to reconsider plans for expanded offshore exploration.

"What I hope is that the offshore drilling, along with the Atlantic and the Gulf, that area is off the table, and there's no expanded drilling in those areas," Cardin said during an appearance on the liberal Bill Press radio show.

Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) had been working to craft a compromise energy and climate bill with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) that would, among other things, allow increased oil and gas exploration in the Gulf and along the Atlantic coast in exchange for some of the bill's increased restrictions on emissions that contribute to climate change.

"I certainly hope it doesn't derail the bill," Cardin said of the oil spill's effect on the Kerry-Lieberman-Graham bill overall.