[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 183 (Thursday, November 9, 2017)]
[House]
[Page H8684]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 OPPOSING SEISMIC TESTING AND OFFSHORE DRILLING IN GULF OF MEXICO AND 
                         WEST COAST OF FLORIDA

  (Mr. FRANCIS ROONEY of Florida asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FRANCIS ROONEY of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I have been in the oil 
and gas business for many, many years, and the drilling business. I 
have been out to drilling rigs offshore, and I have been to platforms 
offshore. I have interests, now, in several countries that do oil and 
gas, but I must vigorously and relentlessly oppose any move towards 
seismic testing or offshore drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and 
along the west coast of Florida.
  Our west coast of Florida is highly developed with residential 
development and so are our bays. We can't tolerate the kinds of work 
boat, tank farm, and infrastructure necessary to service offshore rigs, 
because it is not just about the rigs.
  This is a picture of work boats going from Grand Isle, Louisiana, out 
to the many, many rigs offshore the south Louisiana coast. This is a 
picture of work boats. This is what goes back and forth to offshore 
rigs every day.
  Here is another one.
  We don't have room for these things in our bays. We don't have time 
to see these things going off our coast, ruining the view that our 
tourists get.
  Here is one last one. That is a cable tower putting down moorings, 
the big round metal moorings that these boats tie off on. We don't have 
room for those moorings in our rivers and bays. So, for that, I again 
want to oppose any move towards offshore drilling in the southwest 
Florida coast.

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