Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, there is absolutely no sense in making a special exception to open the waters along the Pacific Coast for drilling. Supporters of this amendment clearly represent districts many miles from the nearest coastline. Maybe they never saw the environmental devastation on southern California beaches after the Santa Barbara Plains oil spill in 2015; maybe they haven't visited with small businesses in coastal communities like mine that depend on tourism and recreation to survive; maybe they don't know that offshore drilling threatens nearly 746,000 jobs and nearly $53 billion in GDP along the West Coast. However, I have seen that devastation. I visited those small businesses. And I am well-aware of how many jobs could and would be lost if we suffer from another spill along the Pacific Coast. I also know that more than 90 West Coast municipalities and all three Pacific Coast State governors formally oppose offshore drilling. The people I represent in San Diego and Orange County certainly do as well. They know that the risks far outweigh any benefit that fossil fuel companies will reap from drilling off our coast, and I am here to raise their voices. Mr. Chair, many of my Republican colleagues in the Committee on Natural Resources try to justify their push to destroy our coastal communities with offshore drilling by claiming that the alternative to expanded drilling is imported foreign oil.…”