Date: 2012-02-16
Speaker: WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise in strong opposition to the socalled PIONEERS Act that. among other things. repeals the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act. or GOMESA. Its hard to believe that the lessons of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill are already being forgotten. less than 2 years after almost 5 million barrels of oil flowed out into the ocean and devastated the gulf regions environment and economy. Through this horrible tragedy. we learned firsthand the dangers of drilling at extreme ocean depths and the difficulties in stopping a spill once it occurs. We also learned the dangers posed by the powerful Gulf of Mexico loop currents in the eastern gulf. These loop currents are capable of transporting spilled petroleum into the Florida Straits. through the Florida Keys. and onto shorelines up the Atlantic side of my home State. endangering hundreds of miles of coastline in Florida. and beyond up the east coast. We were extremely lucky that more of Florida was not affected by the Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010 and that the site of the spill was not within these normallyoccurring loop currents. Allowing drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico would place leasing directly within the strong loop current and is the height of folly. Even if we didnt have such a powerful precautionary tale as the Deepwater Horizon accident. drilling near Floridas coast simply doesnt add up. Floridas $65 billion tourism industry relies on pristine beaches. Florida is also home to 85 percent of the United States coral reefs. which are profoundly sensitive to oil spills. Coastal resources like mangroves and sea grasses would also be put in harms way. as well as Floridas vibrant commercial and recreational fishing industries. That is why so many bipartisan members of Floridas congressional delegation have lined up in opposing drilling near our shores. In fact. a few weeks ago. Congressman JOHN MICA held a field hearing in Miami to discuss the dangers of offshore drilling by Cuba that is within 100 miles of Floridas shores. The Florida Lieutenant Governora RepublicanJennifer Carroll stated at the hearing that: The Deepwater Horizon incident in 2010 has shown that a spill that poses even a potential of impacting Floridas water or land causes a huge negative impact on the economy. I could not have said it better myself. This is why we simply should not allow drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. I would welcome a debate weighing the harms against the benefits of expanding offshore exploration off Floridas coastline if the benefits were comparable to the risks. but theyre notnot even close. Expanding drilling for oil in the Gulf of Mexico would not lower gas prices or produce enough oil to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. In short. opening the eastern Gulf of Mexico is not the answer to our energy concerns. If we are serious about weaning our dependence on foreign oil. we need to continue the clean energy policies of the Obama administration and efforts in recent years by Congress. We have more domestic oil production today. right now. than we have ever had. For example. the 2007 bipartisan effort to increase the fuel efficiency of cars over the next decade will have a profound effect on the demand side of the supplydemand equation. The Natural Resources Defense Council estimates that by 2020 the new auto fuel standards will save consumers $65 billion in fuel costs by cutting consumption by 1.3 million barrels a daymore than could be produced in the eastern gulf in an entire year. Finally. a little history lesson on the 2006 law that this bill will repeal. In 2006. Republican leadership in both Houses of Congress enacted GOMESA. which opened 8 million acres for new oil drilling leases off Floridas panhandle in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. In exchange. the 2006 law placed the rest of the eastern gulf under a statutory moratorium until 2022. That agreement should be honored. not tossed aside less than 6 years later. Our word must be our bond. or negotiations and handshakes are rendered meaningless. In my 19year legislative career. your word being your bond was always supposed to be paramount. In this case. apparently there are some Members of the Republican leadership that dont believe that and are willing to cast it aside. Beyond the economic and environmental reasons for honoring the 2006 deal. protecting our military training areas is also important. The military uses the eastern Gulf of Mexico for training operations. and the Pentagon has said that drilling structures and associated development are incompatible with military activities. like missile flights. lowflying drone aircraft. and training. For this reason. the Pentagon has long opposed expanding offshore drilling in the eastern gulf. The 2006 law incorporates an agreement between the Department of the Interior and the Defense Department to set aside waters east of the "military mission line" to preserve military readiness. On behalf of Floridas tourism industries. fishing industries. and on behalf of the needs of the Defense Department and in the name of military readiness. I urge my colleagues to remove this terrible provision from this legislation. To add insult to injury. it is unconscionable that House leadership has refused to even allow a vote on a bipartisan amendment that I cosponsored with my Florida colleagues that would have stripped out the GOMESA repeal. If they had the courage of their conviction. they would allow a fair and open debate on this. But when you dont have much to back up your argument. you cant allow a fair fight.