Reid Considers Shale Ban While Focus is on Bailout

Amanda Carpenter | September 25, 2008 1:57 PM

Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid is trying to ban shale oil exploration while most members of Congress are focusing on the $700 billion financial bailout.

Sen. Jim DeMint (R.-S.C.)

posted the text of Reid’s proposed ban on shale on his Senate blog Thursday afternoon. "It would be an insult to all Americans if Senate Democrats worked to bailout Wall Street while damaging our future prosperity by banning development of vast energy reserves in oil shale,” a DeMint staffer wrote.

Colorado Sen. Wayne Allard’s (R.) staff also sounded the alarm once they got wind of Reid’s plans. Allard’s state would be directly affected by the shale ban, as most of the nation’s shale depositories are in the Western states.

Approximately 800 billion to 2 trillion barrels of oil are estimated to be located there.

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