New NRDC Tool Tracks Decisionmakers’ Opposition to Offshore Drilling

WASHINGTON (August 15, 2018) – The Natural Resources Defense Council is launching a digital tool today to help the American people track where their governors and members of Congress stand on the Trump administration’s radical plan to expose nearly all of our coasts to offshore oil and gas drilling.

The following is a statement from Franz Matzner, Director of Federal Affairs for the Natural Resources Defense Council:

“The Trump administration’s plan for offshore drilling is so extreme—and poses such harm to our climate and to all of our coasts—that effective opposition has to be an unyielding, united front.  We intend to hold public officials accountable, and using this tool, citizens can see where leaders in their state stand on this pressing issue.

“It’s not enough to oppose oil and gas drilling off of your own state.  Oil spills cross state lines.  Opposition must, too.”

NRDC determined that the order of strength of opposition would be ranked as follows: 1) Voting on offshore drilling amendments in 2018; 2) Co-sponsoring, sponsoring, or signing on to a relevant bill in the 115th Congress; 3) Signing on to a letter or submitting an official comment to the Bureau of Energy Management in 2018. Whichever avenue a member of Congress chose to make their support or opposition clear, NRDC took the extent of that particular geographical specification to determine their designation.

Click on this digital tool, “Stop Trump’s Offshore Drilling Assault,” to see where members of your state’s delegation stand on drilling.

For more on the topic, here is a blog by NRDC’s Alexandra Adams and Franz Matzner.

# # #

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.

Related Press Releases