Barbara Boxer: “But, again, to me the beauty of this whole moratorium has been that we have said our coastlines and our ocean, that…”

“But, again, to me the beauty of this whole moratorium has been that we have said our coastlines and our ocean, that those are national treasures, east coast, west coast. And I think my colleague, Senator Menendez, has pointed out, it isn't as easy as all that. You are not going to build some kind of a sand dune around the drilling. You don't know what could happen. You don't know how far the problem could go. I know the Senator talks about the mitigation fund, but that just speaks to the point. So it isn't just about one State, it is about an entire coast, and it is about a precedent. Let me just say to my friend that the world has changed after 9/11. I voted to go to war against bin Laden--and we are still waiting--and, clearly, we learned very quickly over the years that we have to not be dependent on foreign oil, but we also understand we need a strong economy and a good economy, which means some other things, too. It means a beautiful coast, it means a healthy tourist industry, it means a healthy fishing industry. There are more jobs in tourism in my State than almost any other sector.”