House Republicans once again block U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor’s bipartisan amendment to ban oil drilling off the coast of Florida and protect vital military missions in the Gulf of Mexico:

“Despite a recent Department of Defense (DoD) report that recommended keeping oil rigs off the west coast of Florida, House Republicans again blocked my bipartisan amendment to ban oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and protect the vital military mission area off the coast.  My amendment, cosponsored by U.S. Rep. Francis Rooney (R-Naples), was blocked again by Republicans who clearly want to keep options open to allow oil drilling off the coast of Florida even in areas important to our national security,” said U.S. Rep. Castor (FL14).

“The amendment follows the DoD report that oil drilling is inconsistent with the military mission in the eastern Gulf of Mexico,” said U.S. Rep. Castor.  “The environmental and economic reasons to prohibit drilling in the Gulf are paramount, but the Gulf is also a vital training area for our military.  The Department of Defense reiterated as recently as May 9 that the area continues to be a strategic national asset critical to the our weapon systems and the readiness of our service members.  This is not the first time that Republicans have stood in the way of protecting the military mission line as they blocked our bipartisan amendment last month as well.  Nevertheless, we will not give up and I thank U.S. Rep. Rooney for his consistent leadership.”

U.S. Rep. Castor has been an outspoken opponent of oil drilling off of Florida’s coast throughout her tenure in Congress.  She has authored bipartisan legislation like the Florida Coastal Protection Act, which was cosponsored by U.S. Rep. Rooney, that would ban drilling off the Florida coast permanently.

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