Nevada's congressional delegation is split along party lines on President Bush's lifting of a ban on offshore oil exploration. Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid pointed out that the oil companies are not drilling on 68-million acres of Federal land they have already leased. The Nevada Senator attacked the President's assertion that it's necessary to lift the ban on exploration on the offshore Outer Continental shelf to increase production. But Republican Senator John Ensign says lifting the ban would take the nation "one step closer to real solutions." Congresswoman Shelley Berkley opposed the president's move, while Congressmen John Porter and Dean Heller sided with the White House. Bush says the move is necessary to increase domestic oil production. But a Congressional ban on expanded drilling remains in place. The President criticized Congress for balking at his request almost a month ago to lift the restrictions.
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