They Voted For You: Drilling

All three of West Virginia's U.S. House members voted for a $630 billion government spending bill that would "end a quarter-century ban on oil and natural gas drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts," The Associated Press reports.

The measure passed 370-58 with the help of U.S. Reps. Alan Mollohan, D-1st, Shelley Moore Capito, R-2nd, and Nick Rahall, D-3rd.

AP reports that extending the oft-debated ban on offshore drilling was kept out of the bill in the face of a veto by President Bush and the specter of a resulting government shutdown.

"The decision to avoid a fight with the White House over offshore drilling marks a major shift by Democrats on energy policy and a reflection that the GOP argument for more domestic energy production had found a support among voters this election year, even though coastal states long have worried that offshore drilling might cause spills, soil beaches and threaten their tourist businesses," the article said.