House Votes to Ban Offshore Drilling

Voice of America
12 Sep 2019, 16:05 GMT+10

The House on Wednesday approved two bills that would forever ban drilling off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and to extend a moratorium on drilling off Florida's gulf coast.

"We're striking back this week against the Trump administration and their agenda to drill everywhere, every time, with no exception," House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raul Grijalva said.

The White House has said the president will veto the bills if they pass the Senate and get to his desk.

While the opponents say the bill only limits the nation's energy industry, the supporters of the bill say they will provide protection for vital water ways and help avoid disasters like the 2010 BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

"If we're learning anything from the past, it's that when you drill, you spill. No one should be comfortable exposing our shorelines to that risk," South Carolina Congressman Joe Cunningham said.

But the White House said in a statement that the bills "undermine the Administration's commitment to a prosperous American economy supported by the responsible use of the Nation's abundant natural resources."

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