Date: 2003-10-08
Speaker: GEORGE MILLER (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: California

Mr. Speaker. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me this time and thank her for bringing this motion to instruct. I simply do not get it. I do not get how the wildly unpopular idea of weakening coastal protection can be an issue in this energy conference. The House bill did not have this proposal to do an inventory off of our coasts. The House bill did not have language to lessen a States right go protect its coastline from inappropriate development. Why then are we confronted with this situation? Because time and again" Congress has voted to give States the rights to protect their coastline. This is like the end of a bad movie. We have seen it before. In spite of our efforts. in spite of the States efforts to protect their coastline. in spite of this Congresss efforts to reassure them the right to do that. we are now back to where we were with James Watt when he proposed opening the entire United States coastline to drilling. It was so unpopular. as my colleagues have pointed out. we have a moratorium on the coast that goes to 2012 put on by both a Republican President and a Democratic President. And yet this administration wants to pursue it. It simply does not want to pursue it in the light of day. It wants to pursue it in a closed conference committee. It wants to pursue it where its critics cannot get to it. So that is why we are here today with this motion to instruct. because we do not want this provision to pass. Those of us who care about the coastlines of our States. who care about the economies of our States. who care about the tourism in our States. who care about the natural beauty of our States do not want this legislation to pass. This inventory. one can say this is just an inventory. but when we look at the connection between this administration and the oil industry and the Vice President and the oil industry and the President and the oil industry. and it goes on and on and on. this is not just an inventory. This is about opening the coast. and we do not want that to happen. We know that California has opposed this time and time again. We know that the Floridians have opposed offshore development. The great State of New Jersey time and again has opposed this. Members of Congress from the Great Lakes States when they were under threat opposed this. Oregonians. Washingtonians have all opposed this effort. Why? Because they understand the real value of the coastline to our States. our constituents. and to our citizens. But yet the Republicans continue to pursue this at the behest of the energy companies. We cannot allow this to happen. We cannot allow the oil and gas industry to cut private deals inside this conference committee in spite of the directions of this House. in spite of the agreements that we made in the committee not to do this. to cut it because the oil industry is insisting that they do it. This is an inventory that Governor Job Bush does not want. This is an inventory that the New Jersey delegation does not want. that the Florida delegation does not want. Certainly the California delegation on a bipartisan basis has made it clear they do not want it. and. in fact. the entire House of Representatives has rejected this. And. as of today. our new governorjfect of the State of California has opposed this provision. He has come out against. offshore oil drilling. He has conie out for the protection of the California coast. So on a bipartisan basis. on a bicoastal basis we are asking the Members to support the Capps motion because the Capps motion is the means by which we can protect the great coastlines of this Nation. Again. I want to thank the gentlewoman for offering this motion.