The area, know as Lease Sale 181, was shut to drilling after Florida officials complained that an oil spill or other exploration accident could foul beaches and hurt the state's multi-billion-dollar tourism industry.

Johnnie Burton, Director of the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service that oversees offshore drilling, told a Senate hearing on Thursday that drilling technology "makes it possible to control the risks" for retrieving the area's oil and gas supplies.

Burton told the Senate Energy Committee that energy companies have a good safety record of drilling in the Gulf of MexiCo She noted there were no major oil spills last year even though hurricanes Katrina and Rita damaged many production platforms and underwater pipelines.

Republican Sen. Pete Domenici, who chairs the energy panel and has introduced legislation to allow limited drilling in the 181 area, said the oil and gas in the disputed waters "belong to the United States of America" and the country needs the supplies to help meet its energy demand.

Sen. Jeff Bingaman, the top Democrat on the committee, is a co-sponsor of the bill.

The bottom part of the 181 area, where the legislation would allow drilling, holds an estimated 6 trillion cubic feet of gas.

The eastern part of that area, used by the military for training, holds 1.2 trillion cubic feet of gas and would be under the Pentagon's control. No drilling would be allowed without the okay of the Defense Department.

The rest of the bottom area holds 4.8 trillion cubic feet of gas and would automatically be opened to energy companies, under the legislation.

Domenici said the additional oil and gas would help control energy prices that crimp economic growth. He pointed out that new Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress on Wednesday that rising energy costs threaten the US economy.

The Senate legislation, if passed and signed into law, would require the department to begin leasing tracts in the 181 area within a year. Burton said the department's proposal to drill in the area would not be finalized for 18 months.

Republican Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida, a member of the energy committee, said he would oppose Domenici's legislation and the Interior Department plan to open 181 area to drilling. Most of Florida's large congressional delegation is expected to follow suit.