Lois Capps: “I thank my colleague for yielding. Mr. Chairman, here we are, voting once again to mandate new offshore drilling in…”

“I thank my colleague for yielding. Mr. Chairman, here we are, voting once again to mandate new offshore drilling in areas where it simply isn't wanted. And just like before, this proposal simply ignores the facts, the facts stated by my colleague from New Jersey: the fact that we already make more than 75 percent of the offshore oil and gas resources available for drilling; the fact that domestic oil production is at an 18-year high; and the fact that we have more rigs that are drilling in the United States than in the rest of the world combined. Instead of addressing the real issues in offshore drilling, like the need to adopt the safety recommendations of the nonpartisan oil spill commission, this bill seeks to compound the problems by mandating new drilling all over the place. H.R. 6082 also cavalierly dismisses the legitimate concerns raised by the people most affected by this mandated new drilling idea--my constituents. After nearly 100 years of drilling off my coastline, Californians have spoken loud and clear: we've had enough. In fact, a 2010 proposal to allow slant drilling from the shores of a coastal town in my district was opposed by 70 percent--that's right, 70 percent--of the voters. To protect communities now at risk under this bill, I offered an amendment that would have stopped the mandated new lease sales off southern California--off my district--but the majority refused to allow a debate on this amendment.…”