Bob McCarty Writes

Moments ago, officials at the American Petroleum Institute issued a cautiously optimistic statement about House Democrats’ decision yesterday to allow the 25-year-old offshore drilling ban to expire.  That statement, which must have involved a bit of a leap of faith on API’s part, appears below:

“We think that lifting the ban on drilling is in the best interest of the American consumer as it gives them access to the billions of barrels of domestic oil and vast quantities of natural gas resources that had been off-limits. If Congress does nothing to limit development by placing arbitrary limits, it is a great step for our nation’s energy security.” — API, Sept. 24, 2008

Now, Americans must wait until after the November elections to find out whether Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and her colleagues in the Democrat-controlled Congress will indeed live up to their promise.