U.S. Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford) believes the answer to the oil crunch may be drilling off Long Island's shores.

"I think we absolutely have to drill, and as far as drilling off Long Island or New Jersey or other parts of New York ? it's so environmentally safe," King says. "We can't always be saying not in my backyard."

However, King isn't making a proposal to drill at this time.

"We cannot drill ourselves out of this energy crisis," says Adrienne Esposito, of Citizens Campaign for the Environment. "If they find oil, it's not even going to come to market for up to 10 years from now. Long Island is a tourist economy. We depend on our beaches and our bays."

The debate is heating up as President George W. Bush pushes Congress to drop restrictions on offshore drilling that have been in place for 27 years.