James Davis: “about 1 year ago, former Congressman Joe Scarborough and I led a debate on the floor of the House that is remarkably…”

“about 1 year ago, former Congressman Joe Scarborough and I led a debate on the floor of the House that is remarkably similar to the one today, except it had to do with the coast of Florida. One of the arguments we raised was that the minimal amount of supply available off the coast of Florida did not warrant the extraordinary risk to our State, its pristine beauty, and to so many people that depended upon the economy associated with those beautiful beaches. Those same arguments apply here today in California. We are talking about supply related to asphalt. I do not hear anybody here complaining we are depending on other countries to build enough parking lots in this Nation. California needs a few less parking lots and so do the State of Florida and others. So we are not talking about a precious supply for motor vehicles, for generating electricity for industry and manufacturing; we are talking about asphalt. I think the Democrats and Republicans in the State of California are entitled to the same respect that we afford to Floridians when we sat up and told our colleagues of the economic impact to our State associated with a spill that could occur. The final point here is that the President of the United States and others need to stand up and say, why are Californians different than Floridians? Are they of some inferior status? Of course the answer is no. We are a country. This is an issue to put politics aside.”