Delegation loses footing on offshore drilling bill

WASHINGTON — The House vote today on oil and gas drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico boils down to one thing: leverage.

The bad news for Florida lawmakers is that they’re not in as good a bargaining position as they once were. That became clear as Florida lawmakers met for the second time in two days to discuss the issue that has splintered the once-united delegation.

On Tuesday, House members met for more than an hour, but were unable to reach a consensus. Wednesday, with Florida Sens. Bill Nelson, a Democrat, and Mel Martinez, a Republican, in tow, the lawmakers tried again.

The current deal crafted by House Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo, R-Calif., and Rep. Adam Putnam, R-Bartow, would allow oil and gas drilling 100 miles off Florida’s shorelines and give state legislators the ability to enact legislation to open up drilling 50 miles from the coast.

But most Florida lawmakers said they were not comfortable with the 100-mile buffer or with giving the state Legislature the power to allow drilling in the first place.

They offered Pombo two new amendments: one, a buffer of 125 miles off the coast with the choice of the state Legislature to allow drilling, the other prohibiting drilling in the military mission zone that stretches 235 miles off the coast of Tampa.

They could live with either, and if Pombo really wanted most of the delegation’s support in what some expect to be a close vote, he would agree to a deal, they said.

“The question now is, do we have enough leverage?” asked Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, the Miami Republican who represents part of Collier County. “I don’t know. It’s going to be tough.”

With time running out, Putnam — chairman of the Republican Policy Committee and the delegation’s appointed messenger on the issue — took the offer to Pombo on Wednesday afternoon.

The proposal was similar to a compromise members of the delegation reached in November. Back then, however, the delegation had more leverage because the drilling legislation was attached to a must-pass budget reconciliation bill.

This time, because it is a stand-alone bill and there is increasing pressure over gas prices, Pombo was not as eager to please.

“Chances of another compromise are slim to none and slim just walked out the door,” said Brian Kennedy, a spokesman for the House Resources Committee. “The majority of the other delegations are demanding that something be done on this issue.

“Chairman Pombo offered 125 miles last year and we were close to reaching a deal,” Kennedy added. “Florida had their chance. Had several (Florida) members not pandered about, we would have had that deal today. Now you’re either with us or you’re not.”

Even if the legislation passes the House today as it is expected to, Sens. Martinez and Nelson told House members they are prepared to filibuster if such a bill emerged in their chamber.

“The two of us are hitched up,” Nelson said. “Mel and I can stop this.”

Martinez said while the overall House bill is “a step in the right direction,” he could not support the Pombo bill in its current form.

“My objection is based on the lack of an adequate buffer afforded to Florida,” he said. “Even at 100 miles, the buffer is inadequate. If the House bill is brought up in the Senate in its current measure, I would be inclined to join Sen. Nelson in a filibuster of the measure.”

If the bill extended the buffer to 125 miles and would preserve a drilling moratorium through the year 2022, Martinez said, he would “wholeheartedly” support that legislation.