Pelosi May Allow Drilling Vote, With Strings Attached

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi indicated this week that she may allow the House to vote on a measure to lift the moratorium on offshore oil exploration. However, Pelosi indicated the measure would be tied to Democratic priorities that Republicans would be unlikely to support. The Hill reports Pelosi "may be ready to allow a vote on offshore drilling, but that doesn't mean she's going to make it easy on the Republicans who've been goading her for weeks on energy." Pelosi "stressed that it would have to be part of a larger energy package. And the contents of that package might include some items that would be tough for Republicans and the energy industry to swallow, like a renewable portfolio standard and the Democrats' signature 'use it or lose it' legislation." Fox News Special Report said that the bill Pelosi will put forth will "have some measures Republicans deeply oppose and Speaker Pelosi in that interview hinted at one of them -- a so-called windfall profits tax."

A clear example of the power of The Speaker of the House