Landrieu to block OMB nominee unless oil drilling ban lifted

September 24, 2010 06:14


A Gulf Coast Democrat is vowing to block Senate confirmation of President Obama’s budget director until the administration agrees to lift or ease a federal freeze on deepwater oil-and-gas drilling.

By Ben Geman and Walter Alarkon at The Hill

‘“Due to the administration’s unwillingness to reverse or modify its policies that have halted all deepwater and nearly all shallow-water energy exploration, I cannot in good conscience allow this nomination to proceed until I receive a commitment from Mr. Lew, the president or another senior economic adviser to reverse these policies, which have been so detrimental to working families across the Gulf Coast,” Landrieu wrote in a letter Thursday to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

Though she praised Lew’s expertise, Landrieu also said he “lacked sufficient concern for the host of economic challenges confronting the Gulf Coast.”’

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