Republicans propose to speed up granting of drilling permits

New York Times : Frustrated by the Obama administration’s slow pace in restarting offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon accident last year, Republicans in Congress are proposing a range of bills to force the administration to accelerate the granting of drilling permits and open new offshore areas to oil and gas exploration, writes John Broder for the New York Times. Republicans in the Senate and House are also moving on bills to strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its authority to regulate climate-altering gases and are using pending budget measures to limit enforcement of a variety of other environmental laws. President Obama will answer some of their arguments in a speech on national energy policy scheduled for today.