The Republican-led US House of Representatives have voted to replace President Barack Obama's five-year offshore leasing plan with a more aggressive proposal that would open up new areas to drilling.
The House voted 253-170 on Wednesday to advance a Bill that would require 29 offshore lease sales over the next five years, nearly twice the number proposed in Obama's current leasing plan.
Twenty-five Democrats voted in favour of the Republican-sponsored Bill, known as HR 6082. (Click here to see a copy of the Bill.)
The Bill would also open up areas in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans that are currently off limits to drillers.
The passage was seen as a largely symbolic refutation of the president's energy policies, which have been portrayed by the president's opponents as anti-industry.
The Democrat-led Senate was said to be unlikely to vote on the measure, leaving the Bill dead on arrival in the higher chamber. Obama has threatened to veto the Bill if it ever finds its way to his desk.
Industry remained hopeful the Bill would live to see a vote on the Senate floor.
The Independent Petroleum Association of America called the president's existing plan "simply insufficient".
"On the other hand, the House plan opens up new areas for exploration of our nation's rich resource potential offshore. It allows for states that have been yearning to explore their energy potential – states like Virginia – to tap into the energy and economic renewal that has been sweeping the nation," IPAA president Barry Russell said in a statement.
In a separate House vote on Wednesday, representatives formally disapproved of Obama's leasing plan by a 261-164 margin.
The administration's plan, proposed on 28 June, is currently under a 60-day congressional review period. The plan does not require congressional approval, however.
"The only reason the majority is bringing up this bill is to defeat it," Democratic representative Edward Markey said.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has said he will sign the current five-year leasing plan, making it official, as soon as the review period is over.
