U.S. Rep. Castor (FL14) released the following statement following Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s statement related to offshore oil drilling off of Florida:

“The only way to fully protect Florida’s economy and environment from the risk of oil drilling off of our beaches is to extend the moratorium permanently,” said U.S. Rep. Castor.  “The moratorium on drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico is scheduled to end in 2022 and Congress must enact a law to ban offshore drilling off of the Florida coast once and for all.  Without such protection, politicians like Gov. Rick Scott and Pres. Donald Trump, who previously supported drilling off the Florida coast, can change their minds again.”

U.S. Rep. Castor has been an outspoken opponent of oil drilling off of Florida’s coast throughout her time in Congress. She is author of the bipartisan Florida Coastal Protection Act, cosponsored by U.S. Rep. Francis Rooney (R-Naples), that would ban drilling off the Florida coast permanently.

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