GOP aims to cut spending on Environmental Protection Agency, offshore drilling oversight
"The legislation would give the Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement $154 million — $35 million less than the Obama administration had asked for the agency that oversees offshore drilling.
Republicans also rejected the White House's proposal to impose $65 million in new inspection fees on offshore rigs and platforms as well as $38 million in similar charges for inspections of onshore oil and gas sites. Republicans who drafted the spending bill described the administration's fee plan as an "ill conceived" idea that would "put the brakes on future domestic energy sources."
The spending bill also folds in a version of House-passed legislation that aims to accelerate Arctic drilling by Shell and other companies. The measure would set a six-month deadline for the EPA to take final action on air permit applications associated with those offshore drilling projects and bar the agency's administrative appeals board from reviewing permits for exploratory drilling."
ALTERNATIVES TO OIL
