Oil & Natural Gas
RHETORIC: In a press release, the Gilmore campaign says that Mark Warner is "on the record repeatedly opposing efforts" to increase domestic production of oil and natural gas [Gilmore campaign release, 7/15/08].
REALITY: Governor Warner has said that he is in favor of off-shore exploration and drilling for oil and natural gas, and he has consistently said that it is not a long-term solution and is just one piece of a broader range of actions designed to promote America’s energy independence.
After Governor Warner unveiled his energy plan on June 18, the Virginian-Pilot wrote: "Warner said he favors gas and oil exploration off the Atlantic and Pacific shores" [6/19/08].
WSLS-TV reported: "He said he supports exploratory drilling for natural gas and oil along the Atlantic coast but would leave the states to decide where to go from there” [Media General News Service, 6/18/08].
According to the Daily Press of Newport News:
"I want to find out how much oil is off there," he said. "The state ought to reserve the right to figure out on oil." … Natural gas presents fewer environmental concerns, he said, and the threshold to develop it doesn't have to be as strict as for oil. However, he stressed that drilling for petroleum was only a small part of his total approach [6/19/08].
And the Roanoke Times reported:
Warner said he supports lifting the federal moratorium on offshore oil and natural gas exploration "to see what's there," and letting states decide whether to allow it… "But let's not fool ourselves; this is not the long-term solution," Warner told reporters after his speech at the Science Museum of Virginia [6/19/08].
And according to the July 12, 2008, edition of the Daily Press:
While open to drilling, Warner said there is no reason to think long-range plans for increased drilling offshore would bring prices down soon."There's no serious policymaker or economist who predicts that," Warner said. "I know it's political season, but some of this is basic math."
RHETORIC: The press release notes that Governor Warner vetoed legislation "that called for lifting the ban on offshore drilling."
REALITY: The 2005 legislation would not have allowed offshore drilling. As the Daily Press reported:
“As governor, Warner vetoed a bill that would have directed the Virginia Liaison Office to work with Congress to exempt the state from the moratorium on offshore natural gas exploration and development.
Warner vetoed that bill for two reasons: It encroached on the governor’s authority to direct the liaison office, and it compelled the state to lobby for legislation that had not yet been drafted. In his veto message, Warner wrote: ‘We need consensus on a national energy policy, and the contemplated federal legislation raises significant public policy issues on which I am willing to keep an open mind.’" [Daily Press, 6/11/08]
RHETORIC: The release says Governor Warner vetoed the above legislation in 1995.
REALITY: Mark Warner served as Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia from 2002 to 2006.