Offshore Drilling Opposition Strengthens in 116th Congress

WASHINGTON  – The Natural Resources Defense Council has released an updated digital tracking tool where the public can look up governors and members of Congress to see where they stand on offshore oil and gas leasing. With 208 members of Congress now opposing drilling, up from 199 in the previous Congress, there is new energy in the bipartisan fight to block the administration’s radical plan to open nearly all of our coasts to federal oil and gas leasing.

The following is a statement from Alexandra Adams, legislative director for the Nature program at the Natural Resources Defense Council:

“The Trump administration has given every break to the oil industry, and all but shut the door to the public in crafting its plan to open nearly all of our coasts to dangerous offshore drilling.

“Our elected officials should represent the will of people in fighting this plan, and this tool gives people a way to hold our public officials accountable. You can look up where your state’s leaders stand, and then let others know on social media if they are fighting to protect our coasts or supporting the administration’s plan to open them to the risks of oil and gas drilling.”

Click on the updated digital tool, “Where Do Your Elected Officials Stand on Offshore Drilling?” to see where members of your state’s delegation stand on offshore drilling.

In measuring the strength of opposition, NRDC has ranked actions as follows: 

(1) voting on offshore drilling amendments or bills;

(2) co-sponsoring or sponsoring a relevant bill;

(3) signing on to a letter to the Department of the Interior or the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (considered an official comment) or submitting an official comment.

For more on the topic, see this blog by Alexandra Adams.

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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.