Kathy Castor: “Last week, the Trump administration proposed opening up all of the coast of the United States of America to offshore oil…”

“Last week, the Trump administration proposed opening up all of the coast of the United States of America to offshore oil drilling. This is a very risky proposition for my home State of Florida. Our economy depends on tourism, clean water, a strong fishing economy, and we have a military mission line off of the West Coast of Florida that has to be protected from drilling. We are not that far removed from the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster that caused loss of life, billions of dollars in economic damage, and significant environmental damage as well. Why would we put our economy, our environment, our military missions at risk for such a risky proposition? There may be appropriate places to drill for oil, but it is not off of the coast of the State of Florida. My Republican colleague Francis Rooney and I have cosponsored a bipartisan bill, the Florida Coastal Protection Act, H.R. 2002. I urge the support of the Congress in turning back this very risky proposal for offshore oil drilling by the Trump administration. ____________________”