Florida Reps Seek Coastal Drilling Ban
Jul. 14–WASHINGTON — Rep. Katherine Harris, backed by 18 fellow members of the Florida congressional delegation, introduced legislation in the House of Representatives this week to permanently ban oil and natural gas drilling off the Florida coastline.
Florida Sens. Bill Nelson, a Democrat, and Mel Martinez, a Republican, also are promoting a permanent ban in the Senate.
The Harris bill reflects a concerted effort by nearly all Florida political leaders of both major parties to fend off pressures to open up environmentally sensitive offshore areas, particularly in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, to energy production.
“The people of Florida treasure our beaches and coastal areas, not only for their beauty but also because they are critical to our state’s tourism industry and economy,” said Harris, R-Sarasota, a candidate for Nelson’s Senate seat. “The best way to protect these precious areas is to ensure that the ban on drilling is extended permanently.”
A federal moratorium on drilling off Florida’s shores is due to expire in 2012. Many members of Congress, especially those from oil-producing states, are pushing hard to open up the Eastern Gulf to make the nation less dependent on foreign supplies.
Harris and other Floridians oppose a provision in a Senate-passed energy bill that calls for an inventory of potential supplies in the Outer Continental Shelf, which could increase pressure to drill.
One Florida member who declined to co-sponsor Harris’ bill is Rep. John Mica, R-Winter Park. Mica contends that Florida and the rest of the nation need the energy that may be found offshore and warns that hauling oil by barge from other parts of the world poses a greater threat to the environment.
The bill’s co-sponsors from South Florida include Reps. Clay Shaw, R-Fort Lauderdale; Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Weston; Mark Foley, R-Jupiter, Kendrick Meek, D-Miami; Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Miami; Lincoln Diaz-Balart, R-Miami; and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami.
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