On the recordJuly 8, 2015
Again, I respect the Solomon's wisdom that would be required by the chairman and others on the committee in dividing the different interests, and that is why I think the Founding Fathers had it right. They said that, ultimately, nobody in Washington can have Solomon's wisdom when you talk about local perspective and local interests, that there was a real value to local voice, those nine communities. If you think about Saint Helena Sound as the example that I just cited, the little town south of there, Beaufort, drew up a resolution, and the county and the city council moved forward, saying: We don't want to move forward with this. The little town to the east, Edisto Beach, moved forward with the resolution citing the same. The larger town to the north, Charleston, did the same. Those local inputs, those local people, have said: We have seen what might or might not come here. We think it is worthy of a pause. Again, that is all this amendment does. It doesn't say: We will forever not have offshore drilling in sale 260. What it says is: For the next 5 years, why don't we allow for more public input and more voice, given the fact that there are lifetime impacts and really long-lasting impacts in certain pristine and/or developed areas along the coast of South Carolina or other coastal areas along the block of 260. I reserve the balance of my time.
