Ileana Ros-Lehtinen: “I thank our leader, Mr. Putnam, for the time. And along with my colleagues from the Florida delegation, I rise in strong…”

“I thank our leader, Mr. Putnam, for the time. And along with my colleagues from the Florida delegation, I rise in strong support of the Putnam amendment and in passionate opposition to any amendment, any language which would allow offshore drilling a mere 3 miles from our Nation's coast. {time} 2000 The Peterson language would overturn the current moratorium on drilling, a moratorium which has been in place for over 25 years. The bipartisan Florida delegation position remains firm, remains strong: oil and gas drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf is dangerous for the economy, is dangerous for the environment, runs contrary to national security interests, and is not an immediate nor a long-term answer to the Nation's growing energy needs. Drilling 3 miles off a Florida coast, as Mr. Putnam pointed out. I am so proud to represent the ecological treasures of the Florida Keys. It is a premier destination for ecotourism. Any offshore drilling near this area would place thousands of rare and vulnerable marine plant species in harm's way and could cripple the Keys' tourism economy. Drilling structures along the gulf coast would be located in the middle of a hurricane zone. So I hope that we strongly oppose the Peterson language by adopting the Putnam language tonight, and I thank the chairman.”