GREEN  (CONT)

Others disagree.

"The idea that we are going to drill our way out of the problem is wrong," says Carol Browner, head of the Environmental Protection Agency in the Clinton administration. Instead, she and others associated with the Center for American Progress - former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former Clinton White House chief of staff John Podesta among them - promote developing biofuels and other technologies.

Royalties and oil company profits add to the debate.

"With the federal debt mounting and oil and gas prices nearing record highs, reducing federal earnings on our natural resource royalties does not make fiscal sense," Steve Ellis, vice president of the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense Action wrote to all members of the Senate last week.

The White House shares the concern. The Office of Management and Budget warned last month that state royalties in the House bill, 64 percent of total government royalties, could result in "adverse long-term consequences on the federal deficit."

Meanwhile, the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen points out that oil companies "are raking in record profits."
During the first three months of this year, the five largest companies - ExxonMobil, Chevron, Conoco Phillips, BP, and Shell - earned $27 billion in profits. Last week, several major oil companies reported large second-quarter earnings as well.

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