Reuters:

The House of Representatives passed legislation on Tuesday lifting a longstanding congressional moratorium on offshore drilling.

The extensive energy package introduced by Democrats would give states the option to allow drilling between 50 and 100 miles off their shores. Areas more than 100 miles from the coast would be completely open to oil exploration and drilling.

In addition to drilling, the bill requires the government to sell 70 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. It also provides tax credits for renewable energy and energy efficiency that would be funded by repealing some tax breaks for the oil industry.

According to Joe Romm at Climate Progress, the GOP fought the bill, tooth-and-nail, because, just as he had predicted, if the Democrats offered an "everything" bill that included both offshore drilling and energy rebates and subsidies, the Republicans would screech and howl.



(My apologies to chimpanzees)