Steven Holt: “I thank my friend from Oregon. Each summer as Americans rush to our beaches for fun and relaxation, the majority of the…”

“I thank my friend from Oregon. Each summer as Americans rush to our beaches for fun and relaxation, the majority of the Republicans here in the House rush forward with ill-conceived legislation to open up those same beaches and coastlines to unsafe drilling. Today we have a bill that has been accelerated through the legislative process and has been drafted in a way that limits the opportunity for Members representing coastal States to protect shorelines and coastal economies. The bill we're considering would allow Big Oil to put drilling rigs off the Atlantic, Pacific and Alaskan coasts without enacting key drilling safety reforms that we know should be there following the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster. This is bad policy through a bad process, all so this bill can enjoy the same fate that so many irresponsible drilling bills that the majority has rammed through have experienced. They put these bills forward in apparent ignorance that a law requires passage by both houses and signature by the President. The administration was never given an opportunity to testify on this legislation, and now the President has suggested that he would veto this bill if it ever made it to his desk. In committee markup, I offered an amendment to protect the Atlantic coastal communities, including my home State of New Jersey, which is strongly opposed to drilling off the Atlantic coast. The amendment was rejected on a party-line vote.…”