Bill Flores: “Reclaiming my time, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Chairman, I claim time in adamant opposition. The…”

“Reclaiming my time, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. DeFAZIO. Mr. Chairman, I claim time in adamant opposition. The CHAIR. The gentleman from Oregon is recognized for 5 minutes. Mr. DeFAZIO. This amendment would prohibit the Department of the Interior offshore agencies from using voluntary and commonsense planning as part of the National Ocean Policy to inform decisions they make under existing laws. It's interesting that the National Ocean Industries Association, which represents offshore energy developers of many kinds, yesterday noted: This is a great example of the progress that can be made when industry and regulating agencies communicate with each other. It's gratifying to see government and an industry come together to cooperatively and responsibly address these complex and important environmental issues. And the gentleman's amendment would bring that program to a halt, which obviously the industry actually seems to think is useful. With that, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from California (Mr. Farr). The CHAIR. Without objection, the gentleman from California will control the time. There was no objection.”