Soon after Obama took office, the Interior Department rescinded 77 leases in Utah because of their close proximity to national parks, later reinstating 17 of them.
Then weeks before the 2010 Gulf oil spill, Obama said he would consider expanding drilling off the Virginia coast and Alaska, only to scrap or delay those plans after the spill. And just last week the Interior Department, after completing a preliminary environmental review, said it would offer up thousands fewer acres for oil shale development in three Western states than President George W. Bush had.
Partly to respond to Republican criticism and higher gasoline prices, Obama extended leases impacted by the post-spill moratorium, called for annual lease sales in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, and has offered or plans to offer up much of the Western and Central Gulf, and some waters off the Alaskan coast, to oil and gas companies. These steps could help boost production. And the president also has struck deals with automakers to boost fuel efficiency, which will help reduce future gas consumption.
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EDITOR'S NOTE _ An occasional look at how well politicians' statements adhere to the facts.
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