Drilling Measure Defeated

Putnam/Capps/Davis/Foley amendment to protect shores passes.  

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WASHINGTON, DC – Tonight, by a vote of 217 to 203, the House of Representatives passed the Putnam/Capps/Davis/Foley amendment to protect America’s shores from the hazards of drilling.  “Today, Floridians, joined by beach lovers nationwide, spoke in one voice about the need to protect one of America’s most precious natural resources – our pristine beaches,” said Congressman Jim Davis, a lead sponsor of the amendment and the House sponsor of Senator Nelson and Martinez’s Permanent Protection for Florida Act.

 

The amendment to the Fiscal Year 2007 Interior Appropriations Bill restored the congressional moratorium on natural gas drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), which includes waters surrounding Florida. 

 

“The bill considered by the House today was the most aggressive attack on Florida’s shores in the nine years I have served in Congress,” said Davis.  “For those of us who cherish Florida’s untainted beaches, the prospect of rigs placed just three miles off our shores is incomprehensible.”

 

“Keeping Florida’s shores rig free is part of the reason why our state welcomed more than 85 million visitors last year alone, and it is also why so many Americans prefer Florida’s beaches to those in Texas and Louisiana, where drilling is permitted.”

 

“There is no question that Congress needs to address America’s energy crisis, but this bill will do nothing to relieve current fuel prices or solve our country’s long term energy needs.  In fact, energy companies already have access to over 80 percent of known offshore oil and gas reserves and have rights to more than 4,000 leases that they haven’t tapped into.” 

 

“The hard truth is that American simply cannot drill its way out of this fuel crisis.  Congress must get serious about alternative energy and conservation efforts.”