Miller seeking deal to open up part of Florida Coastline to drilling

Congressman Jeff Miller (R-Pensacola) is seeking legislation which would allow offshore oil drilling off of part of the Florida coast in exchange for stronger ban on remaining offshore tracts. Miller has been a consistent opponent of drilling, so this move comes as somewhat of a surprise. The issue should play out over the next few weeks as crude oil prices continue to skyrocket and supply links have been broken partly due to Hurricane Katrina and partly due to the hostile words of some close to the administration about Venezuala's Government.