Energy compromise offered

A "gang of ten" senators has proposed a bipartisan compromise energy bill that would open the east coast and Gulf of Mexico coastlines to offshore drilling for oil and natural gas, but would also invest $20 billion on alternative energy sources:

The proposal would provide $20 billion to help transition 85 percent of all new cars and trucks to non-petroleum based fuels within 20 years and billions more for research and development of technology for alternative fuel vehicles.

The compromise plan would also include tax credits to promote conservation, fuel economy, the purchase of hybrid cars and the creation of alternative fuel filling stations. It also would provide grants to help convert conventional gasoline-fueled cars to alternative fuels.

But the most controversial aspect of the bill is its proposal to open new offshore areas to exploration and production.

The bill would open new acres in the eastern Gulf of Mexico to leasing, including Florida, and end a decades-old ban on drilling off the coasts of Georgia, Virginia and the Carolinas — if the officials of those states want to allow the production. The proposal sets up an opt-in provision so legislatures and governors can allow drilling off their coasts.

While the compromise plan would impose a 50-mile buffer plan, give states a share of the revenues and require all new production to be used domestically, environmental groups and lawmakers from other coastal states — including New Jersey and Florida—are expected to bitterly fight the opening to new offshore production.

Obama has tentatively endorsed the general idea of easing offshore drilling prohibitions if it helps move forward on renewable sources.

I checked OpenCongress for the "New Energy Reform Act of 2008" but it's not available yet; here's Senator Mary Landrieu's press release on the "New ERA."

UPDATE: Here's the list of Gang of Ten senators:

• Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.)
• Kent Conrad (D-N.D.)
• Bob Corker (R-Tenn.)
• Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)
• Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.)
• Mary Landrieu (D-La.)
• Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.)
• Ben Nelson (D-Neb.)
• Mark Pryor (D-Ark.)
• John Thune (R-S.D.)