IV

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 136

Expressing the sense of the Congress that the moratoria on new oil and

natural gas leasing activity on submerged lands of the Outer Continental

Shelf should be maintained.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 16, 2001

Mrs. CAPPS (for herself, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. SCARBOROUGH,

Mr. BOEHLERT, Mr. FARR of California, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Ms. LEE, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. LANTOS, Mrs. DAVIS of California,

Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. HONDA, Mrs.

NAPOLITANO, Mr. STARK, Ms. WOOLSEY, Mr. FILNER, Ms. SOLIS, Mr.

SHERMAN, Ms. PELOSI, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. DAVIS of Florida, Mr.

BLUMENAUER, Mrs. TAUSCHER, Mrs. THURMAN, Mr. WAXMAN, Ms.

HARMAN, Mr. MATSUI, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. FRANK, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr.

WEXLER, Ms. WATERS, Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD, Mr. ALLEN, Mr.

WU, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. HORN, Mr.

HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr.

DEUTSCH, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. SMITH of

Washington, Mr. DELAHUNT, and Mr. ABERCROMBIE) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the Congress that the moratoria

on new oil and natural gas leasing activity on submerged

lands of the Outer Continental Shelf should be maintained.

Whereas during the last 8 years, the Federal Government has

operated robust oil, gas, and coal leasing offshore and on-
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shore programs that matched, or exceeded, production

levels during the administration of former President

Reagan, and during the administration of former President Bush;

Whereas offshore, the United States has leased and currently

manages more than 44,000,000 acres of Outer Continental Shelf lands;

Whereas proposals to provide more access to currently protected Federal lands for development by the oil, gas, and

coal industries ignore how much land is already available

for that purpose;

Whereas it is not necessary to drill in sensitive areas to meet

America’s energy needs;

Whereas since 1982 there has been in effect a statutory moratorium on new leasing, pre-leasing, and related activities

on submerged lands of the Outer Continental Shelf;

Whereas in 1990 former President Bush utilized his authority to place areas of the Outer Continental Shelf in the

areas of northern, central and southern California; the

North Atlantic; Washington and Orego; and parts of the

eastern Gulf of Mexico off limits to new leasing through

2000;

Whereas in 1998 President Clinton extended the Bush limitation through June 2012;

Whereas citizens of California, Florida, and other Outer Continental Shelf moratoria States are overwhelmingly opposed to new oil drilling off their coastlines and are concerned about plans to open the Florida Gulf Coast to new

leasing;

Whereas a majority of Americans are growing increasingly

concerned about the environment and believe that pro-
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tecting it should take precedence over economic development;

Whereas the American people have made a decision to protect

the Nation’s coastlines from oil development, because

they know there are far better alternatives; and

Whereas there are many other worthy options before the Congress that could increase energy independence and reduce

reliance on foreign oil, such as reauthorization of the

Strategic Petroleum Reserve, incentives to improve energy efficiency, research into renewable energy and alternative fuels, fully funding energy conservation and efficiency programs, including solar and renewables, weatherization, and other initiatives: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate

2 concurring), That it is the sense of the Congress that the

3 existing moratorium on new oil and natural gas leasing,

4 pre-leasing, and related activities on submerged lands of

5 the Outer Continental Shelf should be maintained.

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