Matt Gaetz: “I rise at the urging of Republicans in the Florida delegation who are overwhelmingly supportive of the underlying…”

“I rise at the urging of Republicans in the Florida delegation who are overwhelmingly supportive of the underlying legislation but who seek to make it a little better by ensconcing some of the policy articulations of the Trump administration regarding where drilling can and cannot occur offshore into the body of the bill. There is no denying that since President Trump left office, Joe Biden has overseen a collapse of U.S. energy dominance. This legislation is a great first step to fulfill the Republican commitment to attack inflation and rising gas prices, and that begins by stopping playing politics with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. On September 8, 2020, President Trump issued a memo indicating that there would be certain areas off the shore of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina that would not be available for drilling leases. Offshore drilling is broadly opposed in coastal communities in these areas by local governments, many of which had submitted to President Trump previously, and to congressional offices, resolutions indicating their opposition to offshore oil drilling. They largely cite two reasons: environmental policy and the impact on property values in coastal communities. I will speak to the impact of offshore oil drilling on the military mission in these areas. In the Gulf of Mexico test range, in the 10 years preceding my time in Congress, there were about 60 test sorties that the Air Force would run off the coast of Florida.…”