Bill Nelson, U.S. Senator from Florida: Hot Topics

Senator Nelson has worked consistently to keep offshore drilling away from Florida's coast in order to protect the state's tourism-driven economy, its unique environment and the country's vital military testing and training areas in the Gulf of Mexico.

He blocked Senate drilling legislation until it provided adequate protections for Florida, including a 125-mile buffer off the Panhandle and a 235-mile no-drilling zone off most of the state's west coast. In addition, he was able to obtain written assurances from Senate leaders that they will not allow pro-drilling House members to weaken these important protections.

While the Senate bill adequately protects Florida's interests, Senator Nelson believes the real solution to high gas prices is to conserve energy and continue developing alternative fuels.

Gas Prices

Oil companies continue to report record profits, while consumers continue to pay record prices at the gas pump.

This is why I have called on the president to seek a voluntary, temporary freeze on gas prices - until we address the broader issue of breaking our addiction to oil. Unfortunately, I have yet to see any real action by the administration other than an illogical push to drill for more oil in places like Alaska and even off the coast of Florida.

Additional drilling will not bring down energy prices or save the U.S. from foreign dependence. With only three percent of the world's oil reserves in this country, it's impossible to drill our way out of this crisis. And besides, it takes up to 10 years for any new oil to get to the marketplace.

Instead of focusing on increasing oil supplies at the expense of our environment and economy, this country must get serious about developing alternative fuels, increasing energy efficiency and reducing our consumption of oil.

We should start by meaningfully raising fuel efficiency standards for all cars and trucks. An extra nine miles-per-gallon would save about one-fourth of all the oil currently imported into the U.S., decreasing our dependency significantly more than additional drilling.

Alternative fuels provide a long-term answer. More practical, alternative-energy technology exists today than ever before. Ethanol, fuel from corn or sugar, and gas made from coal are just a few alternatives successfully used by other countries. And power from the sun and wind instead of burning natural gas holds promise, too.

Meantime, the administration's got to put an end to gas-price gouging and Congress has to get serious about investigating the oil companies.

Immigration

Sen. Nelson voted for the immigration bill because he feels it will help secure the country's borders. It contains several get-tough provisions, authored by Sen. Nelson, that will double the number of detention beds and require new technologies to guard the border, including unmanned aerial vehicles and other surveillance equipment.

The bill deals with the millions of illegal immigrants already in our country by deporting some while allowing certain others, who meet strict requirements, to request legal status. The latter must learn English, pass a criminal background check, maintain a lengthy record of employment, and pay all back taxes, plus a hefty fine.

Sen. Nelson believes the bill will make the country safer, while still meeting the needs of our economy, which depends heavily on immigrant workers, especially in the agriculture and service industries.

Ocala National Forest

Senator Nelson does not support the proposed sale of up to 300,000 acres of national forest nationwide, which would include 973 acres in Ocala National Forest. He believes selling off conservation land is an irresponsible and shortsighted effort by the administration to cover run-away budget deficits.

Domestic Spying

Senator Nelson is very concerned about reports of military and other spying on Americans. He supports giving law enforcement and the intelligence community the tools they need to thwart terrorist attacks, but he also believes the government must follow the law and the Constitution. He supported hearings aimed at determining the extent of spying and whether any laws protecting innocent Americans' privacy have been broken.

Asbestos

Although Senator Nelson voted with more than 90 other senators to allow debate on the asbestos bill, he intends to vote against the legislation unless significant changes are made to ensure that the process for providing compensation to victims is fair to all the parties involved. He believes the current asbestos bill falls far short of helping consumers.

Prescription Drug Plan

Congress recently passed the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, adding a new prescription drug benefit to the Medicare program. Senator Nelson voted against the Medicare prescription drug benefit because it was too complicated, did not adequately protect seniors' retiree coverage and failed to address the escalating costs of prescription drugs. Senator Nelson believes seniors deserve a better Medicare prescription drug benefit.

Amid widespread reports of confusions regarding the program, Senator Nelson has introduced the Medicare Informed Choice Act, a bill that would give seniors more time to enroll in the new Medicare prescription drug program. He believes this extra time will allow seniors to fully research their options, ask questions, and make informed decisions. Nelson remains optimistic about the future of this legislation in 2006.

Unfortunately, the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 forbids the government from negotiating lower prescription drug prices on behalf of seniors. In reaction, Senator Nelson cosponsored a bipartisan bill that would allow Medicare to begin bargaining for discounted prices.