On the recordMay 25, 2010
This amendment would reestablish the moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling in the North Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic, the South Atlantic and the Straits of Florida Planning Areas. As I am sure colleagues are aware, several weeks ago the President indicated he would lift the moratorium on offshore drilling along the Atlantic from the New Jersey-Delaware border south all the way to the Florida Keys, that he would also lift the moratorium on parts of Alaska, but that he would maintain a moratorium on the Pacific coast and on the North Atlantic. Since that announcement has been made we all know what has happened in the Gulf of Mexico. We have seen what happened with the BP oil spill--the loss of life and the horrific impact it has had on the environment. When the President announced his policy of additional offshore drilling sites, he stated, through the Secretary of the Interior, that there are places in the United States that are environmentally too sensitive to consider for new oil and gas exploration and production.
