Porter Goss: “I rise reluctantly in strong opposition to the amendment of my friend, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula). Mr.…”

“I rise reluctantly in strong opposition to the amendment of my friend, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Regula). Mr. Chairman, I want to speak very briefly about an amendment offered by my friend, Chairman Regula. The Regula amendment would prohibit funds in the bill from going to States that have moratoria on outer continental shelf (OCS) oil and gas leasing. For the last decade and a half, the Florida delegation has worked diligently to include in the Interior appropriations bill a moratorium on further oil and gas leases off the Florida coast. Most in Florida remain concerned about the effects of oil drilling on our sensitive marine environment. While the annual moratorium provides a stop-gap solution to this issue, it is far from ideal and actually shortchanges all parties involved. In fact, every member of the Florida delegation has cosponsored legislation I introduced to impose a permanent policy for Florida offshore oil drilling. H.R. 33 would call for a 'time-out' period, during which a joint State-Federal commission of scientists and other interested parties would work to craft a non-political, science based decision as to which areas--under what conditions--are appropriate for oil drilling off the Florida coast.”