Bush to renew push for offshore drilling
With gas at $4 a gallon, President plans renewed push to end a long-standing ban.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush will ask Congress Wednesday to lift the ban on offshore drilling, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said Tuesday.
The request will come a day after presumed Republican presidential candidate John McCain issued the same call.
"For years, the president has pushed Congress to expand our domestic oil supply, but Democrats in Congress have consistently blocked such action," Perino told CNN.
Opponents to offshore drilling say it would harm aquatic ecosystems by eroding wetlands, contaminating the water with chemicals, polluting the air, killing fish and dumping waste.
Bush has long called for the opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to oil exploration, but Perino said he now wants to go further.
"With gasoline now over $4 a gallon, tomorrow he will explicitly call on Congress to also pass legislation lifting the congressional ban on safe, environmentally friendly, offshore oil drilling," Perino said.
She added, "As with several existing Republican congressional proposals, he wants to work with states to determine where offshore drilling should occur, and also for the federal government to share revenues with the states. The president believes Congress shouldn't waste any more time."
At a campaign event in Houston, McCain made similar comments.
"We have proven oil reserves of at least 21 billion barrels in the United States," he said. "But a broad federal moratorium stands in the way of energy exploration and production. And I believe it is time for the federal government to lift these restrictions and to put our own reserves to use."
He said lifting the ban could be done "in ways that are consistent with sensible standards of environmental protection."
-- CNN White House Correspondent Ed Henry contributed to this report. 
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