It was the Obama administration's 2015 5-year oil and gas leasing program that initially proposed opening the Atlantic to offshore energy exploration.
The problem with visions of impending apocalypse is that after the initial hysteria passes, life goes on and the world does not end.
Yet, we do not see coincidence with the population of other whale species in the North Atlantic.
It is a double standard, then. It is not the seismic testing, it is the purpose of the seismic testing?
The central issue in this hearing seems to be the effect of seismic testing on the North Atlantic right whale.
I think our common sense tells us that any fish or mammal population is going to move away from such an annoying sound.
Ironically, it may have been saved from outright extinction by--wait for it--fossil fuels, which made whale oil obsolete.
Seismic testing is NOT synonymous with offshore oil and gas extraction, nor has it been found to be detrimental to marine mammal stocks.
If it is true, I am shocked, just shocked, that my friends on the left are not shocked.
I am a life-long Republican. I have been a Republican longer than some of you have been alive.
Your job is to revisit the Act, and I am hopeful and expect that you will do it.