Political Quotes

“Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Sanford) for yielding time. Mr. Chair, moving forward with permits for seismic airgun surveys for subsidy oil and gas deposits puts our vibrant Atlantic coast at risk. I am a Virginia businessman, and I look at what seismic testing does. Congressman Rutherford and I led a bipartisan letter to the administration signed by over 100 of our colleagues expressing our concerns about seismic airgun blasting. Our coastal economy relies on healthy ocean ecosystems, which generate $95 billion in gross domestic product, support nearly 1.4 million jobs each year. We have heard from countless businessowners, as Congressman Sanford has said, elected officials, residents all along our coasts who recognize and reject the risks. NASA, the Department of Defense, the Florida Defense Support Task Force have all expressed concern that offshore oil and gas development will threaten their ability to perform critical activities. The North, South, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils, which are responsible for the management of fish stocks and habitats in Federal waters from Maine to Florida, also have significant concerns about the risks associated with offshore drilling and seismic airgun blasting.…”