US clean energy bill gets pro-drilling amendment

A Senate committee overturned a ban on oil and gas drilling off the Florida coast – flying in the face of Barack Obama's clean energy plans.

The committee voted 13-10 in favor of Senator Byron Dorgan's (D-North Dakota) plan to allow leasing as close as 45 miles from Florida's coast.

The move was slammed by many Democrats, who said the US should be looking to explore new types of energy.

Florida Democrat Senator Bill Nelson slammed the plan in a prepared statement, arguing it could hamper military training, while blaming prices at the pump on financial speculators.

"Congress ought to be looking at that and at a real alternative energy program, instead of trying to put oil rigs off the world-class tourist spots all along Florida's coast," said Florida Democrat Senator Bill Nelson in a statement.

Campaigners are concerned that drilling in the area will harm the local environment.

The measure was brought as an amendment to a bill currently going through the US legislature on reducing the country's carbon emissions.

The entire bill will leave the committee this week, though the drilling measures still face opposition in Congress.

Congress allowed a 25-year ban on offshore drilling along much of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts to lapse last year. But the ban remained in force in Florida, restricting exploration to within 125 miles of the Florida coast and 235 miles from Tampa.