[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 105 (Monday, June 26, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S9103]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   CONTINUE THE OFFSHORE DRILLING BAN

 Mr. BIDEN. Mr. President, I rise today to voice my strong 
opposition to efforts by some in the House of Representatives to remove 
the current moratorium on offshore oil and gas drilling on the Outer 
Continental Shelf. Last Tuesday, the House Interior Appropriations 
Subcommittee voted to lift this 14-year-old ban without soliciting any 
input from the coastal states directly affected. The full committee 
will have an opportunity to reverse this misguided action this week, 
and I call on them to reinstate this prohibition.
  Mr. President, lifting this moratorium is short-sighted and 
unnecessary, and threatens to litter our coastline with mammoth 
drilling rigs. This will only increase the likelihood of oil and gas 
spills and other environmental disasters.
  We faced this battle roughly 20 years ago in Delaware when oil and 
gas interests wanted to drill in the Baltimore Canyon off the coast of 
the Delmarva Peninsula. This is clearly one instance where Federal law 
is necessary and effective and we ought to keep the ban.
  Mr. President, I am terribly concerned that this move is yet another 
part of an overall antienvironmental agenda now being advanced. Whether 
it is the air we breath, the water we drink or the food we eat, there 
are increasing attempts to do away with reasonable health and safety 
protections.
  Lifting the ban on offshore drilling--at a time when world oil supply 
and prices remain stable, and when the Republican budget proposal 
includes billions in oil sales from the north slope of Alaska--is 
unnecessary, misguided and just plain wrong.
  Just one oil or natural gas spill, similar to the tragic Valdez 
accident, could permanently destroy miles and miles of pristine State 
beaches and boardwalk. Such an accident could also easily erase the 
decade of progress made in restoring the fragile ecosystems of the 
Chesapeake and Delaware Bays.
  Due largely to concerns over these environmental risks, the Congress, 
in 1982, struck a fair balance between the need for expedited 
exploration and development, and the need to protect coastal 
environments.
  This policy has been effective and has enjoyed bipartisan support. 
Oil and natural gas extraction in the most abundant areas has continued 
and even increased, generating tens of billions of Federal revenue, 
while the sanctity, beauty and safety of our coastlines has been 
preserved. A fair balance.
  Yet now, in total disregard for the interests of coastal states, and 
``States rights'' which is so often invoked and embraced, the House is 
attempting to upset this balance.
  Mr. President, this is a perfect example of the proper role for 
Government in ensuring the safety of our environment and the health of 
our citizens. At a bare minimum, coastal states should have the 
authority to extend the moratorium to the Outer Continental Shelf 
adjacent to the States' coastline. That is why I have joined with the 
distinguished Senator from California [Mrs. Boxer] in introducing 
legislation enabling States to reimpose this needed drilling 
restriction on their Outer Continental Shelf waters.
  Yet, I remain terribly concerned that a more comprehensive approach, 
covering all of the Outer Continental Shelf, as we have had in the 
past, is what is needed.
  Mr. President, I intend to fight vigorously to ensure the continued 
sanctity of our coastal communities and remain committed to the ban on 
offshore drilling.

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