House to Vote on Banning Offshore Drilling

As the summer winds down and we shake the sand out of our shoes and look back at our ocean pictures, it can be a time to also think about how we protect those wonderful places we love. Ever since the Trump administration offered its proposal to open nearly all of our coasts to the potential catastrophe of offshore oil and gas drilling, people from around the country have loudly voiced their opposition to such a reckless and senseless plan.

Governors up and down our coasts, and Republicans and Democrats alike, have told the administration that we don’t want to risk our oceans, coastal economies and communities to the dangers of drilling, which include spills, dumping toxic chemicals into the oceans or a BP-style blowout. Communities and citizens from every coast have weighed in.

And next week the House of Representatives is ready to act. House leadership has confirmed that members will vote on two bills that will stop offshore drilling: H.R. 205 “Protecting and Securing Florida's Coastline Act of 2019” (sponsored by Representative Francis Rooney of Florida ) and H.R. 1941 the “Coastal and Marine Economies Protection Act” (sponsored by Representative Joe Cunningham of South Carolina). H.R. 205 would permanently extend the moratorium on offshore oil and gas leasing in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico off of Florida, and H.R. 1941 will prevent the Secretary of the Interior from including any drilling off the Pacific or Atlantic coasts in its offshore oil and gas leasing plan.

These bills will protect those oceans—and the communities, economies, and ecosystems they support—from risky drilling. The majority of Americans and hundreds of coastal communities, and countless businesses have all voiced their strong opposition to drilling off of their coasts, and these bills directly address those concerns permanently.  

So, as you come back from the holiday vacation, don’t forget to call your representative and tell him/her to vote YES on H.R. 205 and H.R. 1941 to protect our precious ocean resources and coastal communities, once and for all.