Goode, Ellsworth push U.S. oil drilling plans

By DeAntae Prince

TERRE HAUTE — Both 8th District congressional candidates are proposing solutions and taking steps toward easing America’s energy crisis.

Greg Goode, a Republican from Terre Haute, favors drilling for oil off the coast of Alaska to solve energy problems. His opponent, Rep. Brad Ellsworth, D-Evansville, says he is in favor of drilling elsewhere in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, aka NPR-A, to soften the affect of the energy emergency.

Both candidates were in action on their choices this week.

Goode took a trip to Alaska with six other congressional candidates to explore the possibilities of domestic drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He paid his own expenses for his weekend trip to Alaska and said the trek was overwhelmingly positive. Ellsworth voted to pass The Drill Responsibly in Leased Lands Act on Thursday, although it failed in the House of Representatives.

“The land is already available; it has the best chance to increase domestic supply in the shortest amount of time; it’s just common sense,” Ellsworth said in a news release after the legislation failed.

The bill would have placed a ban on foreign exportation of oil drilled at NPR-A. It also provided a pipeline to transport oil and natural gas from the site. Before the vote, Ellsworth said he was excited and Liz Farrar, Ellsworth’s congressional spokeswoman, called NPR-A “a smarter decision” than drilling in the ANWR in Alaska. NPR-A has been open to drilling for 26 years, while ANWAR isn’t as advanced. Farrar said this fact makes NPR-A a faster solution.

“Because it’s already been designated to produce oil it can be made to happen more quickly,” Farrar said. “Domestic oil could increase four to six years earlier.”

The 23 million acres at NPR-A were initially set aside as an emergency oil supply for the U.S. Navy in 1923 by President Warren G. Harding. The site was renamed after it was transferred to the Bureau of Land Management, according to the U.S. Department of Interior Web site. Goode said he doesn’t agree with the use of NPR-A because of its initial purpose and called the plan a “political stunt.”

“NPR-A was set up for national security,” he said, “so we would be able to meet demands for oil and prevent disaster. I do not believe we are at a point where we should be tapping into national security.”

Although he didn’t believe the energy crisis warranted drilling in NPR-A, Goode said America is in a more significant emergency.

“I don’t believe we are in just an energy crisis, but a leadership crisis,” Goode said. “My message to the people is, ‘they haven’t seen anything yet, unless leaders in Washington, D.C. do something.’”

Goode planned his own initiative to lighten America’s dependency on foreign oil. He went on a fact-finding mission in Alaska that he said made he and his counterparts leaders in regard to drilling in ANWR. He said the trip affirmed his initial beliefs.

“A number of people, including my opponent, use scare tactics,” Goode said. “But this trip let me know we can drill in an environmentally safe way.”

Goode went on to say that he realized the Alaskan people want drilling as much as he does. Goode said he spoke with people in government, in academia and with Alaskan natives. He believes ANWR would bring economic opportunities to Alaskans, while making a significant stance.

“A message would be sent that oil is coming,” Goode said. “We can see oil come in 36 to 48 months if we make it our priority.”

Ellsworth disagreed with his opponent.

“People want to talk about ANWAR like it’s the only option out there,” Ellsworth said. “A good place to start are the 68 million acres oil companies already have under lease.”

DeAntae Prince can be reached at (812)231-4214 or deantae.prince@tribstar.com.