Bill Nelson: “I point out that the Alexander amendment takes away the sensible moratorium, which Congress just adopted and the…”

“I point out that the Alexander amendment takes away the sensible moratorium, which Congress just adopted and the President signed 3 months ago, which prevents commercial oil shale leasing before the impacts of those technologies are known, with the R&D projects in Colorado and Utah. It further starts the process of drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf, which you just protected by adopting my amendment. By doing what Senator Alexander said, the camel's nose is under the tent to start drilling off of Virginia. I urge a ``no'' vote on Senator Alexander's side-by-side amendment.”