Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Chair, I rise today to offer an amendment to block oil and gas drilling in the Atlantic Ocean. My amendment is steeped in bipartisan tradition. For 27 years, starting in 1982, Congress continuously supported an Atlantic oil and gas drilling moratorium.

We cannot take the greatest resource of our coastal communities and economies for granted, which is why, today, we must act to restore the bipartisan language that would protect the Atlantic Coast from drilling.

The Trump administration's misguided effort to drill in the Atlantic is reckless, in my opinion. Simply put, the vitality of our coastal economies is tied to healthy ocean ecosystems. Healthy oceans along the East Coast support billions in gross domestic product and more than a million jobs through fishing, recreation, and tourism alone.

In my home State of New Jersey, the tourism industry generates $44 billion a year and supports over half a million jobs. This will no longer be the case if the beautiful beaches of the Jersey shore are slicked with oil.

The bipartisan cosponsors of this amendment and the communities we represent are unwilling to accept the tremendous risks that come with oil and gas drilling in the Atlantic. Hundreds of local governments have passed formal resolutions opposing oil and gas exploration and drilling in the Atlantic, as have numerous local chambers of commerce, tourism and restaurant associations, and commercial and recreational fishing associations.

More than 43,000 businesses and 500,000 commercial fishing families have joined together to strongly oppose offshore oil and gas exploration and drilling.

Mr. Chair, ocean health is already strained by too much trash, rising sea temperatures, and acidification due to climate change. Our oceans and our economies can't afford the risks of dangerous oil and gas development.

More than 4 million gallons of oil have been spilled or leaked in the Pacific Ocean since 1969. Again, the unimaginable risk to our shores is not worth making wealthy oil and gas companies richer.

In 2010, the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster caused a 10-year projected economic loss of $8.7 billion in fisheries from Texas to Florida, including 22,000 lost jobs.

There is no hiding behind State lines from oil spills. The only way to protect ourselves is a full Atlantic moratorium and a commonsense return to historic bipartisan precedent.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Chair, may I inquire how much time I have left.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I appreciate the comments that the gentleman from South Carolina made. I don't mean to speak for his State, but I have to say, I was in Savannah and then went for a couple of days over to Saint Helena island, Hilton Head, and some of the areas where the Gullah people are. On another occasion, in May, I was in Charleston, and I went to James Island and a few other places.

I find it very hard to believe that the people who live in those coastal areas don't share the same concerns that we have in New Jersey about the impact of an oil spill on our tourism and recreational fishing industry.

Again, I am not going to speak for the gentleman's State because that wouldn't be proper.

But let me say this: When my colleague on the other side says that we can drill safely, I have to disagree.

When we had the BP spill 9 years ago, there was a bipartisan commission that was set up, and they made certain recommendations about drilling. Those recommendations were not followed by the Republican leadership in Congress.

The fact of the matter is that the BP spill was in relatively shallow water, compared to the type of drilling that is proposed off the coast of the Atlantic. What is happening is that, as we go further and further off the Outer Continental Shelf, the possibility of spills and the inability to take proper safety precautions become even more of a problem.

That was what the BP commission recommended. They pointed out that as we go deeper out, the technology doesn't exist to protect the coastal areas from a spill.

So I have to take issue with the gentleman. I would point out that the recommendations of the BP commission were never met.

I ask my colleagues to stand united by voting in favor of protecting the health and economic vitality of the coastal communities of all 14 States along the Atlantic Coast and the District of Columbia.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source