President Bush’s symbolic lifting of the executive order banning drilling offshore the U.S. has created a groundswell of support from industry allies as well as many members of Congress.

“The industry's messages are being heard loud and clear across the country,” says IPAA chief executive Barry Russell. “President Bush has listened and recently lifted the executive ban on offshore drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf—the first important step to improve America's energy security. Consumers are listening.”

Bush has called on Congress to follow his lead and lift a congressional drilling ban. There are two bans: one legislated by Congress and signed by former President Ronald Reagan in 1982 and the second an executive order first signed by former President Bush.

Bush says lifting the ban is the first step in easing America’s energy problems, but adds that it would take years before these offshore leases would begin producing oil or gas.

Russell quotes a CNN poll that shows 73% of Americans support American energy exploration and a Fox News poll showing  76% of Americans support immediately increasing oil drilling in the U.S.

Other polls show the same results. A Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll shows 68% of Americans would support increased exploration for oil and natural gas; Rasmussen Reports, 67% of Americans support oil drilling off the nation's coasts and 64% think it will lower gas prices;  Reuters/Zogby, 60% of Americans support more U.S. drilling and some 59.6% said they would favor government efforts to boost domestic drilling and refinery construction to lower energy costs; and Gallup Poll, 57% of Americans also support drilling in U.S. coastal and wilderness areas now off limits.

“Failure to act is unacceptable. It's unacceptable to me and it's unacceptable to the American people,” Bush says. “This means that the only thing standing between the American people and these vast oil resources is action from the U.S. Congress.”

Russell says the polls are swinging towards lifting the ban. He adds that “American consumers are onboard and calling for greater deep-sea exploration. The president has listened. And, now it is time for Congress to provide leadership and take actions that will help bring some relief to consumers. Congress can no longer look the other way on this issue. If we don’t take the necessary steps today, America will be in a worse position tomorrow.”

Sterling Burnett, senior fellow with the National Center for Policy Analysis, applauds the president’s action, but wishes it had come sooner.

“If Congress and previous presidents had not enacted bans of oil production in Alaska and in offshore sites, we could have upwards of an additional 2 million barrels a day of production on the market now,” Burnett says. “The president has done his part, finally—through  executive order and by increasingly using his bully pulpit.”

U.S. Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) says that 97% of the nation’s offshore areas are not leased and 85% are off limits due to the moratorium. According to conservative estimates, the OCS contains a minimum of 86 billion barrels of oil and 420 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Young says, “We have vast energy resources off our shores and they sit untouched while America’s gas prices have skyrocketed, our economy has faltered, and families struggle simply to make ends meet. It is irresponsible of us to continue the failed policies of locking away American energy resources to further our dependence on OPEC and other foreign nations.”

“Once again, the oilman in the White House is echoing the demands of Big Oil,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco says. “The Bush plan is a hoax. It will neither reduce gas prices nor increase energy independence. It just gives millions more acres to the same companies that are sitting on nearly 68 million acres of public lands and coastal areas.”

Joining her is Sen. Barbara Boxer, who heads the Senate's environmental committee. Bush was “taking special-interest government to a new level” and threatens California's coastal economy, she says, adding that the California coast is worth $12 billion and produces almost 270,000 jobs.

Russell says that while some government leaders have switched sides, most notably Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, “congressional leaders need to bring these measures to the floor for a vote.” JAS