Political Quotes

“I rise today to reintroduce the ``West Coast Ocean Protection Act.'' This bill would amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to permanently block new leases for offshore oil or gas in federal waters off the coast of California, Oregon or Washington. I'm pleased to be joined today by Senators Harris, Wyden, Merkley, Cantwell, Murray, Menendez, Booker, Sanders, Whitehouse, Markey, Gillibrand, Peters in sponsoring this bill, which has been introduced in every Congress since the Deepwater Horizon disaster in April 2010. 11 people were killed and 17 others injured when the Deepwater Horizon well blew out. Oil and gas spewed into the Gulf of Mexico for 87 days. Oil slicks covered the Gulf. Tar balls and toxic sludge covered beaches and wetlands. More than one-third of Federal waters in the Gulf were closed to fishing. The impacts of the Deepwater Horizon disaster continue to affect birds and marine life, and marine biologists are still learning about the long-term effects, demonstrating the risks of offshore oil and gas extraction. Californians know all too well the dangers posed by offshore drilling. Before Deepwater Horizon and Exxon Valdez, there was the 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara. A well blowout on an offshore rig spilled more than 3 million gallons of crude oil according to some estimates--the worst spill in U.S. history at the time.…”