Congressman Panetta Votes to Protect Our Coasts from Offshore Drilling

WASHINGTON, DC – During the week of September 8, Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) voted to pass bills that will block oil and gas drilling along the coasts of the United States.
In January 2018, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management published a draft offshore leasing plan that could open the entirety of America’s Pacific and Atlantic coasts, including in the Davidson Seamount in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, to oil and gas exploration and drilling.  That plan was strongly condemned by Republican and Democratic local, state, and federal leaders on both of the Pacific and Atlantic coasts.
The Coastal and Marine Economies Protection Act, H.R. 1941, which Congressman Panetta cosponsored, would address these concerns by establishing a permanent moratorium on oil and gas leasing along the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
"The Administration’s actions could threaten the protections of the Davidson Seamount in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and leave our country’s coastal regions vulnerable to the economic and environmental risks of offshore drilling," said Congressman Panetta.  "This bill will help protect our communities on the Central Coast that rely on healthy oceans and coastlines for tourism, outdoor recreation, and fishing."
Congressman Panetta also voted to pass the Protecting and Securing Florida's Coastline Act, H.R. 205, to extend indefinitely the existing moratorium on offshore oil and gas development in the eastern Gulf of Mexico off the Florida coast, which is currently set to expire in June 2022.  He also voted to pass the Arctic Cultural and Coastal Plain Protection Act, H.R. 1146, to repeal provisions of the 2017 tax overhaul law that provides for the leasing of federal lands in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) for oil and gas exploration and production.
"We in the House will continue to fight to preserve the many benefits that our coasts and oceans bestow upon our communities and country for future generations," Congressman Panetta continued.  "I urge the Senate to follow the House’s lead by passing these critical pieces of legislation for the protection of the place that we call home."