One of my top priorities since I was elected to Congress in 1998 has been to protect our coastline and sensitive lands from destructive oil and gas drilling.The disastrous oil spill near Santa Barbara in 1969 polluted miles of coastline, suffocated marine mammals and seabirds, and galvanized the nascent environmental movement.

Earlier this year, I introduced a resolution, H. Con. Res. 32, expressing the sense of Congress that the spill should be remembered as an ecological and economic disaster that triggered major environmental legislation and helped launch the modern environmental movement.

As the Representative of one of the most naturally beautiful districts in the country, I am well aware of the importance of protecting the fragile environment and economic viability of the Central Coast.And given the expiration of the longstanding offshore oil and gas leasing moratoria on the Pacific and Atlantic coasts, I am leading the fight in Congress to reinstate the ban and prevent future drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).

I have sponsored legislation, the California Ocean and Coastal Protection Act (H.R. 1906), which would ban new exploration and drilling for oil and gas off our state’s coast.

My Committee Work

As a member of the House Natural Resources Committee, I participated in a three-part series of oversight hearings earlier this year to examine the current state and future of the country’s offshore drilling policy.

• The first hearing – “Offshore Drilling: Environmental and Commercial Perspectives” – featured testimony from witnesses on the need for environmental protections for the OCS and the importance of our oceans as a valuable national resource for all Americans to enjoy.

• The second hearing – “Offshore Drilling: State Perspectives” – featured perspectives from coastal state officials, including the Honorable Mike Chrisman, Secretary, California Natural Resources Agency.

• The third hearing – “Offshore Drilling: Industry Perspectives” – featured perspectives from the oil and gas industry.

The Department of Interior recently held a round of regional meetings to hear testimony on the Bush Administration’s midnight plan for new offshore drilling off California and other coastal states.I was pleased to offer my perspective on this matter in a letter I wrote to Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar, which was cosigned by our Senators and several of my colleagues in the California delegation.