White House: Offshore Drilling to Resume

This is a good thing? The White House said Monday that it will move quickly to create a host of new safety requirements for offshore drilling, opening the door to resume oil and gas exploration and possibly bring back thousands of jobs to the Gulf Coast. The U.S. Minerals and Management Service canceled all offshore drilling permits last week, and has halted many others since early May. The Obama administration had put a six-month moratorium on drilling while the rules were being ironed out, but the Gulf Coast is facing a severe economic crisis deepened by the loss of jobs due to the spill. The White House is also supporting lifting the $75 million cap on liabilities that oil companies have to pay in damages in the event of a spill where there is found to be no criminal negligence. BP could face damages “in the many of billions of dollars,” White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said.