MONROE - Local candidates for national office differ on a bill passed yesterday to allow offshore drilling off the east and west coasts of the United States.
The House late Tuesday approved on a 236-189 vote legislation that would open waters 50 miles off the Pacific and Atlantic coasts to oil and natural gas development - if the adjacent states agree to go along.
Candidates for the Second Congressional District, Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, and challenger Peter Theron, R-Madison, disagree on the bill passed in the House.
Baldwin supported the bill and said it "establishes a comprehensive strategy with real solutions to our energy problems."
Baldwin said the bill was far from perfect. But, she added, the bill was an effort to "break the gridlock in Washington and solve serious problems facing families throughout Wisconsin and the nation."
Theron said Baldwin "abandoned Wisconsin citizens" by voting for the bill. He said the bill raises energy costs and does little to drill for new oil.
"Tammy Baldwin's vote has almost zero chance of decreasing gas prices by utilizing America's vast energy supplies," he said in a press release.
Theron said the bill appears to do something about offshore drilling but in reality makes sure drilling never happens. He said voting for the bill was just politics because Baldwin can say she voted for the bill but in reality the result isn't a decrease in energy costs.
The legislation now goes to the Senate, where Democratic leaders are expected to mold it to their liking in the next few days.
The House late Tuesday approved on a 236-189 vote legislation that would open waters 50 miles off the Pacific and Atlantic coasts to oil and natural gas development - if the adjacent states agree to go along.
Candidates for the Second Congressional District, Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, and challenger Peter Theron, R-Madison, disagree on the bill passed in the House.
Baldwin supported the bill and said it "establishes a comprehensive strategy with real solutions to our energy problems."
Baldwin said the bill was far from perfect. But, she added, the bill was an effort to "break the gridlock in Washington and solve serious problems facing families throughout Wisconsin and the nation."
Theron said Baldwin "abandoned Wisconsin citizens" by voting for the bill. He said the bill raises energy costs and does little to drill for new oil.
"Tammy Baldwin's vote has almost zero chance of decreasing gas prices by utilizing America's vast energy supplies," he said in a press release.
Theron said the bill appears to do something about offshore drilling but in reality makes sure drilling never happens. He said voting for the bill was just politics because Baldwin can say she voted for the bill but in reality the result isn't a decrease in energy costs.
The legislation now goes to the Senate, where Democratic leaders are expected to mold it to their liking in the next few days.