Jon S. Corzine: “One minute and 5 seconds? That is the time allotted by the Chair? Let me, then, be brief. I rise today as a cosponsor in…”

“One minute and 5 seconds? That is the time allotted by the Chair? Let me, then, be brief. I rise today as a cosponsor in support of the amendment offered by Senators martinez and Nelson that will keep the door closed to offshore drilling. The amendment strikes language in the bill that would allow a seismic inventory of all potential oil and natural gas resources in the Outer Continental Shelf, including areas off of the New Jersey coast. The people of New Jersey strongly oppose allowing such an inventory and I voted against this provision during the committee markup. New Jersey recognizes that taking inventory of these resources is a step onto a slippery slope toward the eventual drilling off the New Jersey coast; resources that are currently protected by the Outer Continental Shelf, or OCS, moratoria. After all, why would anyone conduct an inventory unless they have the intention to drill if resources are found? ``Inventory'' is just bureaucratic-speak for an open door to drilling off of our coast. I have long fought to maintain the bipartisan, two-decades-old moratorium on drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf. Any drilling, or even the threat of drilling, poses a real threat to the New Jersey environment, economy, and way of life. Drilling would leave the New Jersey coast and its waters vulnerable to oil spills, drilling discharges and damage to coastal wetlands. The environmental effects of an ecological disaster know no State boundaries.…”