On the recordSeptember 10, 2019
Today I rise in support of the Coastal and Marine Economies Protection Act and the Protecting and Securing Florida's Coastline Act. It is estimated that 11 percent of Florida's plant species and 883 vertebrate and invertebrate species are endemic to our State. Florida has 114 federally endangered or threatened species in our community. The Florida reef is the third largest reef in the world and the only living coral reef in the continental United States. Florida's unique ecosystem is too delicate to put at risk to the hazards of the drilling process. Offshore drilling puts our tourism industry and fishing industry at risk, two of the biggest factors in our economy here in Florida. Drilling should never take priority over keeping our ecosystems healthy or our fishermen's jobs. It is time to put the health and the well-being of our community over the greed of corporate polluters. ____________________
