On Monday President Bush lifted an executive order banning offshore oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, but the president's actions don't mean anything unless Congress follows his lead. The move comes as Americans continue to look for some relief from $4 a gallon gas prices.

With estimate of 18 billion barrels of oil in the Gulf, President Bush says this is the right move. But many here in the panhandle are worried about possible environmental damage to the beaches, which would devastate the tourism-based economy.

U.S. Senator Bill Nelson has been one of the staunchest opponents of off-shore oil drilling. Panhandle Congressman Jeff Miller thinks drilling off Florida's coastline may help.

"The president lifting the moratorium is not going to do anything with the price of gas because gasoline has gone up as a result of unregulated speculation on American and world markets. So if you want to do something about the price, you got to ween yourself of the dependency of oil by turning to alternative fuels," Senator Bill Nelson, (D) FL, said.

"Interestingly enough, if you look at the price per barrel per price that is now being shown in the marketplace, and because of the president’s move yesterday, you already see a downward trend and I think if the world's markets understand if America was serious about lessening their dependence on oil and becoming more self dependent you will see that number begin to drop drastically," Rep. Jeff Miller, (R) FL, said.

The president's executive order also includes the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the Green River Basin, where it's estimated there are more than 800 billion barrels of oil combined.