The U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of two bills that would prevent new offshore drilling from occurring off the Atlantic, Pacific and Florida Gulf Coast.
First, the House passed a bill introduced by Rep. Rooney (R-FL-19) — Protecting and Securing Florida’s Coastline Act of 2019 (H.R. 205) — by a vote of 248-180. The bill seeks to amend the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 to permanently extend the moratorium on leasing in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico.
Second, the Coastal and Marine Economies Protection Act (H.R. 1941) passed on a vote of 238-189. This bill seeks to amend the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from including a leasing program within the Atlantic and Pacific Region planning areas by instituting a permanent moratorium. The bill was introduced by Rep. Cunningham (D-SC-1) and was co-sponsored by Rep. Price (D-NC-4) and Rep. Adams (D-NC-12) along with 49 other co-sponsors that represented both coastal and landlocked states.
In response to the vote, Rep. Price issued a statement saying, “I am extremely pleased that this legislation passed the House of Representatives and I urge my colleagues in the Senate to take it up without delay.” Both of these bills will be placed on the Senate calendar for consideration along with the Clean Ocean and Safe Tourism (COAST) Anti-Drilling Act (S. 1304), which was introduced by Sen. Menendez (D-NJ).
The passage of these bills demonstrates that the voices of constituents are being heard by their representatives in the House. Take action now and call U.S. Senators Tillis and Burr to express concerns about the harmful impacts offshore drilling and seismic surveying would have if permitted along the Atlantic OCS.
Learn more at nccoast.org/oil.
