The National Center for Public Policy Research issued a press release a few minutes ago on offshore drilling:

Policy Groups to Congress: Lift Federal Ban on Offshore Energy Production

Washington, D.C. - The National Center for Public Policy Research has delivered a coalition letter to all 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, urging them to remove the moratoria on offshore oil and gas production.

"States that wish to permit oil and natural gas leasing in their adjacent offshore waters should be afforded the right to do so," said Peyton Knight, director of environmental and regulatory affairs for The National Center. "It is far past time for the federal ban on such leasing to be lifted."

National policy organizations that signed the letter include: Coalitions for America, the American Conservative Union, FreedomWorks, Americans for Tax Reform, the Competitive Enterprise Institute, the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste and the National Defense Council Foundation.

State policy organizations, including the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, the Virginia Institute for Public Policy, the Maine Heritage Policy Center and Kansas Taxpayers Network signed the letter as well.

The letter notes that Cuba recently announced its intention to permit China to explore oil and gas production just 50 miles off the coast of Key West, Florida. America's self-imposed ban on offshore drilling means that Cuba can develop resources in its portion of the Florida Straits, yet the U.S. can't do the same on its side.

"Increased energy costs have become a burden for millions of Americans," said David Ridenour, vice president of the Center. "Developing these vital resources in the Outer-Continental Shelf would help lower energy prices for the over 60 million American homes that depend on natural gas for heating."

A copy of the letter can be found online at http://www.nationalcenter.org/OCSLetter0606.pdf.