U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire, D-4th, says he's willing to support a straight up-or-down vote on lifting the congressional ban on offshore drilling when members return to work next month.

The decision could be viewed as one that surprises both Democratic and Republican leaders in the House of Representatives.

"If that's the only way to take this issue off the table, let's have a vote just on the drilling,"Altmire said during a stop Thursday in Butler. "One way or another, we're going to have a comprehensive energy bill."

Altmire admitted that for much of the summer he's felt the heat from voters in his district that includes part of Butler County, angry over rising gas prices that topped off at more than $4 a gallon.

But on Wednesday, House Republican leaders — by way of a letter — tried to apply even more pressure on Altmire and 21 other mostly freshman Democrats.

The letter, the brainchild of House GOPLeader John Boehner, seemed to dare those targeted Democrats to confront Speaker Nancy Pelosi and demand she allow a floor vote on the American Energy Act.

That measure is the House Republicans' energy plan that seeks to boost energy production largely through lifting the 27-year drilling ban covering the federal Outer Continental Shelf off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

Democrats have been under mounting pressure to permit expanded drilling as Republicans push the issue as a way to lower gas prices.

Pelosi rejected holding a vote on drilling before the House adjourned Aug. 1 for its five-week recess.

Pelosi, a longtime supporter of keeping the congressional ban, which is set to expire Sept. 30, only this month seemed to soften her position against drilling offshore.

Still, she suggested that when Congress reconvenes Sept. 8, she would only allow consideration of an exceedingly narrow drilling proposal, not the Republican plan.

Altmire said he was prepared to call Boehner's bluff, and would back efforts to force a vote on any legislation seeking to remove the congressional prohibition on drilling for oil and gas on the Outer Continental Shelf.

"Yeah, I'll do that,"Altmire said, "because I want to take it off the table.

"I support including drilling as part of a comprehensive energy plan,"he said. "But (Boehner) supports keeping this as a political issue so he can run on it for the next 10 weeks (until the election)."

Altmire said Boehner's letter is further proof that Republican would rather play "political football" than solve the energy crisis facing the nation.

"He accuses Democrats of playing political games,"Altmire said of Boehner. "That's ludicrous.

"When he purposely picks the people he views to be in contested races, and sends them letters and then releases it to the press — you tell me who really wants to get this done and who wants to play politics."

Because most of those Democrats who received Boehner's letter are facing their first re-election bids in November, their seats are widely viewed as vulnerable.

Altmire faces a strong challenge from Republican Melissa Hart, a former three-term congresswoman and staunch proponent of offshore drilling.

Meanwhile, Altmire noted that before Congress left town last month, Republicans blocked Democratic proposals to force oil companies to drill on already leased federal lands, tap the nation's petroleum reserve and curb oil speculation.

Additionally, he said he co-sponsored separate bills that would permit offshore drilling as part of an overall energy package.

Those bills also would allow, in part, oil shale and tar sand leasing in western states, boost investment in renewable and alternative energy technologies and encourage conservation and regulatory reform.