Rep. David Rouzer
Contributed
WILMINGTON–This week Congress returns from recess to tackle the 2018 budget in an attempt to prevent a government shutdown on September 30th. One controversial item in the budget battle is funding for the effort to expand offshore drilling along America’s coasts. Rep. Rouzer will be a key vote, as early as Wednesday evening, on bipartisan amendments to block funding related to the offshore drilling and seismic testing expansion that could affect the coast of North Carolina.
Recently, over 30 amendments related to offshore drilling were introduced in the budget appropriations process and many will receive key votes later this week. Four of the key budget votes include:
*Rep. LoBiondo’s (R-NJ) amendment which: “Prohibits funds to authorize, permit, or conduct geological or geophysical activities in support of oil, gas, or methane and hydrate exploration and development in the North Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic or the Straits of Florida.”
*Rep. Sanford’s (R-SC) amendment which: “Restricts the use of funds for researching, investigating or studying offshore drilling in the Atlantic or Florida Straits planning areas.”
*Rep. Gaetz’s (R-FL) amendment which: “Prohibits funds to the Department of the Interior should the Department engage, authorize, or allow oil exploration or seismic testing in the Gulf of Mexico east of the Military Mission Line.”
*Rep. Gaetz (R-FL) and Rep. Castor’s (D-FL) amendment which: “Provides that none of the funds made available by this Act may be used to conduct a lease sale for oil and gas in the areas described in section 104(a) of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (GOMESA), which includes any area east of the Military Mission Line in the Gulf of Mexico.”
*Rep. Rouzer’s votes this week will show whether their views on offshore drilling expansion are in line with the American public and more importantly the people of North Carolina.
Opposition to the expansion of offshore drilling along America’s coast is overwhelming and bipartisan. Republican governors of South Carolina, Maryland and New Jersey have joined Democratic governors of North Carolina, California and Delaware to publicly oppose the Trump administration’s efforts to expand offshore drilling and seismic testing. And constituents from Florida to Maine and California to Alaska have submitted hundreds of thousands of comments opposing expansion efforts.
Tens of thousands of local businesses and hundreds of thousands of commercial fishing families that depend on clean coasts, the majority of Americans, over 130 coastal municipalities, many Alaska Natives, bi-partisan lawmakers at the local, state and federal levels, and a host of faith and conservation leaders reject the Trump administration’s move to expand dirty and dangerous offshore drilling and energy exploration.
Expanded offshore drilling is unpopular on both sides of the political aisle. Here’s why:
Experts say there is a real risk of an oil spill. The oil industry’s track record shows that when it drills, it spills. A major oil spill would destroy the pristine Arctic Ocean, a recognized global treasure, and home to iconic wildlife. The Arctic’s remote and harsh conditions make drilling especially difficult and dangerous, and spills nearly impossible to clean up. Indeed, the federal government itself concluded that full development of even just one lease sale in the Arctic Ocean’s Chukchi Sea would run a 75 percent risk of a major oil spill. The risk of a spill in the Atlantic and other coastal waters is also considered to be quite high. Read more about that danger in this op-ed from the co-chairs of the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling.
Bipartisan and editorial opposition is intensifying. Republican leaders in Maryland, South Carolina, New Jersey, Florida and more have all recently and publicly voiced opposition to offshore drilling expansion efforts. They join a chorus of editorial boards in opposition including The Baltimore Sun, The South Florida Sun Sentinel, The Florida Times-Union, The Virginian Pilot, The Raleigh News & Observer, The Wilmington Star News, The Charleston Post and Courier, among many others.
Americans don’t support this move. Last fall, The Natural Resources Defense Council and the League of Conservation Voters released national survey findingsshowing broad-based, bipartisan opposition to expanded offshore drilling and a huge preference – 59 percent to 36 percent — for permanently protecting the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans any future drilling. Further, American’s oppose funding in the FY2018 budget for expanded leasing of oceans and public lands in general by a 56 percent to 41 percent margin. Today, a growing chorus of voices from that time forward confirms what a deeply unpopular idea the new administration is pushing.A recent poll of North Carolinians found that seven out of 10 North Carolinians reject the federal government’s plan to begin offshore drilling off the coast of North Carolina.
Offshore drilling could end up as a major job killer. Drilling in coastal waterswould also put millions of jobs at risk. A spill could devastate hundreds of East Coast communities and tens of thousands of businesses that depend on clean beaches, unsullied ocean waters and tourism to survive. Along the Atlantic coast, nearly 1.4 million jobs and $95 billion in gross domestic product— mainly related to fishing, tourism and recreation — rely on healthy ocean ecosystems.
We need more energy jobs today, but we need them in clean renewables. Investing in offshore drilling today is barreling the U.S. into the past. Our financial resources and industry attention should be focused on strengthening the economy, growing jobs and remaining a global energy leader. That means investing in clean solar and wind energy, energy efficiency, battery storage and other modern technologies to power our nation. Investing in renewable energy is the smart path to delivering hundreds of thousands of well-paying jobs that are good for the environment and can’t be shipped overseas.
Offshore drilling has nothing to do with “energy dominance” — America doesn’t need this energy. Risking our coastal environments and economies enriches international oil conglomerates without making us more secure. The fossil fuel industry has stockpiled decades’ worth of oil reserves, much more than can be burned to avoid dangerous climate disruptions. We can advance the transition to a carbon-free future through renewable energy sources that don’t come with high liability and continued taxpayer subsidies for some of the wealthiest corporations on Earth. We need to draw a line in the sand … and put American jobs and our environment first!
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