Ignoring calls from Republicans and President Bush to open more areas to drilling, Democrats bring up energy bills in the House and Senate today that are sure to provoke some bitter election year exchanges.

The House will vote today on a bill that instructs the Bureau of Land Management to speed up the process of getting out drilling leases in the area of Alaska known as the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, which is located to the west of Prudhoe Bay and ANWR.

I have had a number of people ask me for maps about drilling leases, so here is a link to the BLM's NPR-A site.  You can determine whether there's a lot of activity or if there should be more.  Go look at the maps and then leave a comment below.

http://www.blm.gov/ak/st/en/prog/energy/oil_gas/npra/npra_maps.html

Ironically, just yesterday, the BLM announced that it will hold a sale this fall for drilling leases in the NPR-A. 

Some timing, eh?

Republican reaction to the plan from Democrats to bring up this bill was about as expected.

"Today's announcement from BLM should serve to remind Democratic leaders that NPR-A is already open for energy production, is already in the process of being leased for energy development, and has otherwise been explored for more than a generation," said House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO.)

The area was set aside for oil production by President Warren G. Harding in 1923.  So you can see, 85 years later, it still hasn't been fully explored.

Meanwhile, the Senate will embark upon a debate on another bill from Democrats, this one designed to rein in oil speculators in oil futures markets.

Here we may get some really interesting parliamentary games.

Democrats want to vote on their bill, but they don't want to allow GOP amendments that would open new areas to offshore drilling and more.

So, the word in the hallways last night was that the Democrats would "fill the tree" as it is called, in order to block amendments by Republicans.

If that happens, I would expect GOP Senators to start some true guerilla parliamentary warfare, which would probably bring the Senate to a halt fairly quick.

The Democrats would blame the GOP for blocking work on energy legislation, while the Republicans would blame the Democrats for blocking work on energy legislation.

Ahhhh, the sweet smell of election year rhetoric....