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WASHINGTON, D.C.-Congressman Allen Boyd (D-North Florida) tonight voted in favor of an amendment to the FY 2007 Interior Appropriations bill (HR 5386) that would strike language lifting the 25-year Congressional ban on natural gas production along Florida's Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Congressman Boyd and his colleagues in the Florida Delegation came together in support of this amendment, which passed on the House Floor by a vote of 217 to 203.
"The passage of this amendment is a huge victory for the people of Florida and the rest of the nation," Congressman Boyd stated. "Offshore drilling this close to our shores would be devastating to our beaches and the larger environment and counterproductive to our national security efforts. Simply put, the Peterson provision is not the answer to our country's energy needs."
Last week, the House Appropriations Committee advanced a proposal by Congressman John Peterson (R-PA) that would have allowed natural gas exploration on the entire U.S. outer continental shelf from Maine to Alaska previously protected by the OCS moratorium. In Florida, and in most other coastal states, this measure could have led to the construction of natural gas wells as close as three miles from the shoreline.
A longtime and outspoken advocate against drilling off the coast of Florida, Congressman Boyd is a co-sponsor of the Permanent Protection for Florida Act (HR 4783), legislation to permanently shield Florida's coasts from the hazards of offshore and gas drilling. This bill includes a list of coastal protections that Floridians have long fought for, such as making the current moratorium against offshore drilling leases permanent and canceling all existing drilling leases in Florida.
"Our beaches and coastlines are special and irreplaceable, and it is our responsibility to protect them," Boyd said. "We must seek meaningful, long term solutions to our nation's energy challenges, instead of the impractical and reckless provision that Congress rejected today."
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