On the recordJune 27, 2013
I am a newcomer to Congress, but the reason I'm a newcomer to Congress is because before I did this, I had 30 years of experience working offshore. So I have firsthand experience with this. Twenty years of that, it was as a sea level officer for different companies that operated offshore. Congress studied this issue for 10 years, and took no action. What does that tell us? That means the intent of Congress is to have no statute or regulation to zone the oceans. So the gentleman's issue is a little off base here. And just to make sure we correct the statement about what NOIA said, here's what they're putting out today: NOIA staunchly supports the good work that Congressman Flores has done and continues to do to fight back this ill- conceived national ocean policy, and stands in strong support of the Flores amendment on the House floor today. I want to remind everybody I have this list of folks that support this. This is the fishing industry, both commercial and recreational. It's agriculture. It's home builders. It's the energy industry. We're not trying to stop a niche problem. The CHAIR. The time of the gentleman has expired.
