Bush Urges Congress to Back Offshore Drilling in Gustav's Wake

NEW YORK.  President George W. Bush urged Congress to allow more offshore oil drilling, saying reports that Hurricane Gustav spared platforms in the Gulf of Mexico do nothing to address America's dependence on foreign energy.

``This storm should not cause members of the Congress to say, `Well, we don't need to address our energy independence,''' Bush told reporters at the White House today. ``We need more domestic energy. One place to find it is offshore America.''

An aerial survey of oil and natural-gas platforms and rigs in the Gulf of Mexico found no structural damage and no oil spills, the U.S. Coast Guard said today.

Congress has prohibited offshore drilling outside the Gulf since 1981. A separate presidential order against drilling had been in place since 1990 until Bush lifted it this year and called for Congress to follow suit.

Gustav, now downgraded to a depression over western Louisiana, shut down all oil production in the Gulf and 95 percent of gas production.

Half of New Orleans was without power after the storm toppled trees and tore off roofs. The city's flood defenses remained intact, and the death toll may have been kept to single figures, Louisiana officials said.