June 18 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush called on Congress to lift a 27-year-old moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling, putting himself in the middle of an election-year debate over U.S. energy policy.

By urging lawmakers to lift the federal ban and work with coastal states to open up more areas of the outer continental shelf to exploration, Bush is reinforcing a similar proposal endorsed yesterday by John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate, opposes it.

As rising energy costs have become a top issue for voters, Bush and his fellow Republicans are seeking to portray Democrats as standing in the way of measures to help lower gasoline prices. Bush's move carries some risk, as well, because offshore exploration has faced opposition in Florida, which will be a battleground in the presidential campaign.

``For many Americans there is no more pressing concern than the price of gas,'' Bush said at the White House today. ``Congress must face a hard reality. Unless members are willing to accept gas prices at today's painful levels or even higher, our nation must produce more oil.''

Administration officials rejected suggestions they are using the issue to gain political advantage. Keith Hennessey, director of Bush's National Economic Council, told reporters before Bush's remarks that energy costs may prompt opponents to rethink their positions.

Gasoline Prices

``Four-dollar gasoline has a way of changing people's perspective,'' Hennessey said.

Even with oil prices about double what they were a year ago, it will be difficult to get such a measure through the Democratic-controlled Congress in an election year and with limited time before lawmakers return to their districts to campaign, according to Pete Davis, president of Davis Capital Investment in Washington.

``I don't see how either house of Congress passes this,'' he said. ``This has been a long-standing issue, and the lines are very hardened.''

Democratic leaders signaled their stance hasn't changed.

``We cannot drill our way to energy independence, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, said in a statement. ``Oil companies are sitting on 68 million acres of public lands they have already leased, but President Bush and Senator McCain want to award them with even more.''

Earlier Ban

While Bush said Democratic opposition ``has helped drive gas prices to record levels,'' his father, former President George H.W. Bush, signed an executive order extending the ban initiated in 1981, and his brother, Jeb Bush, opposed expanding exploration off Florida's coast when he was that state's governor.

Lawmakers last debated oil drilling in U.S. coastal areas in 2005 and 2006 when gasoline averaged $1.84 a gallon during the two-year period, Bloomberg data showed.

Along with lifting the ban on offshore oil drilling, Bush called for allowing exploration and drilling in a portion of the 19-million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, leasing of federal lands to mine and extract oil from shale in the Green River Basin of Colorado, Wyoming and Utah, and accelerating the permit process for new refineries.

Gas and Oil Reserves

Hennessey said about 18 billion barrels of oil could be tapped on the outer continental shelf, 10 billion to 11 billion in Alaska, and as much as 800 billion from oil-shale extraction. Hennessey stressed that these are old figures.

McCain, 71, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, yesterday reversed his previous position and called for letting states open up more offshore territory to oil drilling, even as he promised a break from the energy policies of the Bush administration.

The Arizona senator, who is focusing on energy during his campaigning this week, continues to oppose opening the Alaska refuge to drilling.

Obama, 46, an Illinois senator who is the presumptive Democratic nominee, said there is no evidence that lifting the ban on offshore drilling would provide relief to consumers.

``This is not something that is going to give relief now, and it's not a long-term solution,'' Obama said yesterday.

The proposal may touch off a political battle between energy companies and environmental groups, between members of Congress from coastal states such as New Jersey, Florida, Louisiana and California, and among coastal-state governors.

Current and former Democratic governors from coastal states said McCain's stance and the president's proposals would hurt the Republican candidate.

Environmental Risk

``Senator McCain has made a mistake here,'' New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine said on an Obama campaign conference call with North Carolina Governor Mike Easley and former Florida Governor Bob Graham. Easley said the ``risk is extremely high to the environment.''

Florida Governor Charlie Crist, a McCain ally and a potential Republican vice presidential candidate, has reversed his previous opposition and joined in calling for an end to the drilling ban, the Wall Street Journal reported. Crist had opposed offshore drilling on concern it would damage Florida's beaches and drive away tourists.

``We must be pragmatic in protecting both our beaches and our economy,'' Crist said in a written response to the newspaper.

A telephone call to Thomas Philpot, a spokesman for the Republican governor, wasn't immediately returned.

Schwarzenegger Opposed

In California, Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said he would resist lifting a ban on offshore drilling and that the answer lies in ``new technologies and new fuel choices for consumers.''

``California's coastline is an international treasure,'' Schwarzenegger said in a statement. ``I do not support lifting this moratorium on new oil drilling off our coast.''

Alabama Governor Bob Riley, a Republican, supports lifting the ban, spokesman Todd Stacy said, as long as companies operating off the coast pay taxes to the state.

Demonstrating the regional splits on the issue, Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu, a Democrat, said in a statement she welcomed the proposal and would ``champion the cause in the Senate.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Roger Runningen in Washington at rrunningen@bloomberg.net; Nadine Elsibai in Washington at nelsibai@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 18, 2008 17:19 EDT