Senator Bond has joined Republicans senators in Washington attempting to force majority Democrats to allow domestic offshore drilling for oil.
Rising oil prices have sparked the latest political fight in Washington. Democrats want to rid the oil commodity market of what they call excessive speculation. Republicans want to tap domestic supplies; both offshore and in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Senator Bond tells colleagues the American public is becoming impatient, "They’re telling us: stop fighting, stop the gimmicks, stop half-measures. Do something now that will bring gas prices down."
Bond supports a three-prong approach: increase production, increase conservation and investigate the role of speculation in oil prices. Bond says it is past time to authorize drilling offshore. He says there is at least 18 billion barrels of oil off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.
"That’s a ten year supply that we’re blocking from ourselves," Bond tells colleagues.
The proposal being pushed by Republicans would allow states that don’t favor offshore drilling to opt out. Bond says even the threat of tapping more of the domestic supply should take the air out of speculation in the market.