Political Quotes

“My bipartisan amendment establishes a moratorium on seismic testing in the Atlantic Ocean. I would like to begin by thanking my friends, Chairman Lowenthal, Chairman Grijalva, and Congressman Cunningham, for leading this bill and for working with me on this provision. I also thank my cosponsors, Congressmen Smith, Beyer, and Van Drew, for their partnership and for their longstanding commitments to leading on this issue. During seismic testing, ships pull giant airguns through the ocean that release loud, pressurized blasts of air into the seafloor in search of oil and gas. The best evidence from scientists tells us that noise from these airguns can disturb, injure, or kill marine animals from zooplankton, the base of the food web, all the way up to large whales. In addition, airgun noise can reduce catch rates for fish and disrupt essential behaviors in marine mammals, including dolphins and whales. I believe we need to be building a clean energy future, but seismic airgun blasts lay the groundwork for more dangerous fossil fuel extraction that is bad for our economy and for the environment. I am proud to support H.R. 1941, the Coastal and Marine Economies Protection Act, because I share the concerns of so many of my own constituents who have reached out to me urging Congress to reject proposals that open our waters and coastlines to expanded offshore drilling. In the 7 years following the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, the U.S.…”