[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 11 (Thursday, January 18, 2018)]
[House]
[Page H491]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 DISCUSSING H.R. 4770, PROTECTING AND SECURING FLORIDA'S COASTLINE ACT

  (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 rise to discuss H.R. 
4770, the Protecting and Securing Florida's Coastline Act, making 
permanent the military mission line moratorium on oil and gas 
exploration in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
  Why we do not want offshore drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, 
Floridians do not want offshore drilling--no Democrats, no Republicans, 
no rich people, no poor people, no nobody--and here is why.
  We have a tourist economy and highly developed residential coast, 
bays, and estuaries. There is no place for commercial infrastructure, 
tank farms, workboats, or offshore supply vessels.
  The military doesn't want it either, hence the military mission line 
to protect their training and testing.
  Offshore drilling led to one of the worst environmental disasters in 
U.S. history, the 2010 Deepwater Horizon failure, which could happen 
again at any time. It put 215 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of 
Mexico. The effects are still being felt.
  And you have got to remember, tourism generates $50 billion a year in 
Florida.

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