Energy production and drilling for oil are taking up a good deal of time on Capitol Hill in Washington. Both the House and Senate are dealing with bills that range from almost unlimited drilling … to no drilling … to something in between.

Senator Kit Bond (R-MO) is a supporter of the "drill here, drill now" philosophy. He isn’t too interested in the in between proposals, which allow for some additional drilling with an emphasis on renewable energy. He says bringing down energy costs begins with drilling for oil – a lot of drilling for oil.

Bond says several of the popular proposals being floated would allow additional offshore drilling, but would not allow drilling in areas in which most of the known oil reserves exist. According to the U.S. Minerals Management Service, 10 billion barrels of oil representing 97 percent of total oil reserves off the Pacific Coast are within 25 miles of shore.

One proposal would allow drilling off the Pacific Coast, but only if the drilling is done at least 50 miles offshore.

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