[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 103 (Monday, July 31, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8422-S8423]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   GULF OF MEXICO ENERGY SECURITY ACT

  Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. President, over the last several days we have been 
discussing the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act. Today, in an hour or 
so from now, we will have a cloture vote on this very important 
legislation. For my part, I have tried to make it clear how important 
this legislation is to my State of Florida, how important the 
protection of our fragile environment in our State is to our people. As 
a young 15-year-old, I came to Florida as many people who have been 
transplanted from elsewhere, to enjoy a Florida lifestyle. Since that 
time I have been in love with this wonderful State, what it has to 
offer to people, to families, and the great traditions Florida has had 
as a place to enjoy the outdoors. I have on countless occasions enjoyed 
Florida's beaches, fishing, enjoyed other outdoor pursuits which are 
such a natural part of what Florida is about.
  As the years have gone by, I have passed that on and instilled that 
in my children, as I did a little bit yesterday, passing it on to my 
grandchildren when we were enjoying New Smyrna beach yesterday, under 
that hot Florida sun, but also the beautiful sandy beaches. Part of 
what this bill is about for Floridians is protecting the future, 
passing that love on to other generations by ensuring that Florida 
remains pristine, that it remains the kind of place a visitor from all 
over the country would choose to come to enjoy year after year and 
where other Florida families might begin to develop and enjoy their own 
family traditions, enjoying the great outdoors Florida has to offer, 
our sandy beaches, the fishing, and other recreational opportunities 
that come about as a result of this wonderful natural habitat we have.
  But also protecting it is important as an economic consideration. It 
is part of what makes Florida's economy so thriving and important--the 
tourism. Before there was Disney and Universal Studios, and those types 
of attractions, it was the beaches and the climate that brought folks 
to Florida to come and enjoy. At the end of the day, that is our 
calling card.
  Protecting Florida's environment is not something we take lightly. 
Protecting the environment in Florida is not something that is a 
Republican or a Democratic issue. That is why Senator Nelson, my 
colleague from Florida, and I have worked so closely together over the 
last year or so as this great debate has raged on about what to do to 
protect Florida, while at the same time yielding ever more increasing 
pressures to drill and explore in the Outer Continental Shelf.
  In the Senate, I maintain another tradition--the tradition of other 
Florida Senators, Connie Mack, Bob Graham, others who have fought over 
time to protect Florida's treasures from those who don't share our 
values. I am proud to be part of that tradition.

[[Page S8423]]

I am firmly committed to this tradition. And in that tradition, I have 
worked very hard on--and I am proud to say--what I believe has been a 
good compromise for our State, along with Senator Nelson and members of 
the Florida delegation in the House of Representatives, who have worked 
diligently as well to protect their areas of Florida, protect the State 
and at the same time understanding the great pressures we are under and 
the battle that has gotten fiercer and fiercer as demand has increased 
for ever more production of gas and oil.
  As the prices at the pump continue to go up, as prices drive 
businesses abroad and overseas because of the high cost of natural gas, 
that pressure has been ever increasing. What I want to do today, in 
hoping that the people across the State and also across our Nation 
understand, is say that this bill puts the control of the future of our 
State in our hands.
  As the map here shows, it provides a tremendous zone of protection 
for the State of Louisiana--125 miles south of Pensacola and the 
panhandle, but almost 320 some miles from Naples and 237 miles from 
Tampa. This yellow area is all part of the zone of protection that 
Florida will enjoy until the year 2022, a long time from now.
  As a result of that protection, we have also done something very 
important to our State, which is upholding the tradition of our 
military readiness. This is a military mission line here, where no 
drilling will take place east of this line. What this does is protects 
the training missions that take place out of Eglin Air Force Base, 
Hurlburt Field, and the Naval Air Station in Pensacola as well. They 
train and practice. They test in this area here the guided munitions 
that are such a part of the necessary and difficult and dangerous world 
in which we live. Those marvelous weapons can sometimes make the 
difference between striking the right target or not due to these tests 
in the Gulf of Mexico. The F-22 fighter, which is going to be a very 
important part of the future of our military readiness, is going to 
train here. It is so fast that it requires the vastness of the Gulf of 
Mexico to be able to conduct maneuvers and training exercises that are 
necessary.
  So this is a zone of protection for our State until 2022. Some might 
say it is just protection for the gulf. What about the Keys and the 
east coast of Florida? That is under a moratorium presently. The 
important protection here is to the gulf coast.
  What has been under siege, gone after, is this area denoted as 181 
and this shore, which is the stovepipe. This is what we have been 
seeking to protect, so we could protect our beaches until we had 
assurances that as exploration took place in this area for what is such 
a needed product, we also were protecting the military line and 
Florida's west coast. The east coast at this point is not under the 
same kinds of threat.
  At the end of the day, there are going to be other attempts that we 
will have to fight and do what we can to protect Florida. At this 
moment, the crucial protection was to the gulf coast.
  I am very thankful to Senator Domenici, chairman of the Energy 
Committee, who worked closely with me and has allowed me to play a role 
in crafting this important legislation, attempting to understand 
Florida's concerns, attempting to understand the difficult choices we 
have to make in this issue. Also, I appreciate the members of the House 
of Representatives. They have passed a very different bill from this 
one. I believe the protections for Florida in this bill are superior. I 
will take a moment to thank them for their diligence and vigilance for 
our State and for trying to come up with solutions and answers in a 
different environment than I have worked in with Senator Nelson in the 
Senate.
  I want to make sure that, with great respect, we hope this is the 
legislation that will ultimately emerge and be passed by both Houses. I 
cannot support the House version. I have had clear assurances from our 
leaders that we are committed to working from the framework of the 
Senate bill. That has been important to me, and while I respect the 
hard work of our House colleagues and their autonomy as a body of 
Congress, I believe also we have to prevail on this Senate version of 
the bill. It is what the Senate can pass this year. It is the reality 
of the situation. I am hopeful we can impress upon our colleagues in 
the House by an overwhelming vote of support for this measure. Now is 
the time and this is the opportunity to protect Florida while at the 
same time providing some measure of improvement to the conditions we 
find ourselves in today with such a desperate need for oil and gas.

  This area is rich in not only oil but natural gas. The natural gas 
production from this area may be greater than that of oil. That is a 
tremendously important resource for our Nation today as we try to power 
our plants and other facilities, at a time when so much electricity is 
being generated by the use of natural gas. It is important that we do 
all we can to bring down the price of natural gas. Chairman Domenici 
believes that, in talking with people in the industry, the passage of 
this bill could have a significant impact on the price of futures as it 
relates to natural gas. I hope that will come to pass because that will 
bode well for our Nation's energy needs and also for those who are 
trying to maintain jobs here that have been recently moving overseas.
  Another part of the bill--and the Senator from Louisiana is on the 
floor; she has been such a good person to work with and is very 
understanding of Florida, but also has a very different perspective 
from her State. I know the revenue-sharing parts of the bill are going 
to be a great opportunity for the Gulf States that do so much of the 
dirty work involving this--that put their shoreline on the line so the 
United States can be more energy self-sufficient--to do the things that 
are necessary as a result of the demanding nature of this work. Florida 
won't be doing that. Florida sought protection rather than revenue, and 
that is what we got.
  I feel good about the bill. I think this is the best Florida can do 
at this time. The zone of protection we wanted to have, which was 125 
miles, has been greatly exceeded in most dimensions, and we can go 
forward until the year 2022 with a settled plate, understanding that 
there will be production coming out of the gulf, but it will not impact 
our State.

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