The Obama administration today reinstated an offshore drilling ban which mirrored policy first proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders last May - the president had lifted the moratorium prior to the now-infamous BP oil spill on the Gulf Coast.  Sanders, a member of both the Senate energy and environment committee, introduced his Clean Coasts and Efficient Cars legislation (S.3433) which would have put a moratorium on offshore drilling of the east and west coasts of the country and in certain areas off of Florida.  Now, that is again the policy of the federal government. 

At a hearing in May, Sanders had asked Interior Sec. Ken Salazar if he would support reinstating a drilling moratorium.  Salazar said no. This week, Salazar confirmed his agency was reinstating the policy for the next 7 years.  Sanders legislation also called for raising fuel economy standards to a minimum of 55mpg by 2030.  That aspect of his bill has also been supported by the administration which plans to raise fuel economy standards to between 47 and 62 MPG by 2025.  Between those two policy decisions from the president, Sanders' legislation has effectively been implemented despite finding little support from his Senate colleague for the proposal.

To read about the administrations' change of heart, click here.