“President Trump is selling out Floridians to boost the profits of Big Oil donors. Floridians banned oil and gas drilling in state waters with almost 70% support for 2018. Drilling in federal waters off Florida’s Gulf Coast is far too risky after the economic and environmental damage from the BP Deepwater Horizon blowout and Hurricanes Ian, Helene and Milton. 

 

“Our oceans and coasts are too unique and too critical to our way of life to encourage offshore drilling. Florida is a special but fragile place, and our economy depends on clean water, clean beaches and an affordable way for families to recreate and unwind.  Drilling puts our national security at risk by disrupting critical military training conducted off Florida’s coasts.  That’s why the Biden Administration acted to permanently protect the Eastern Gulf of Mexico under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. But today, the Trump Administration is proposing to lease areas off Florida’s coast that have long been protected by Congress.

 

“Trump’s Interior Department knows drilling in the Eastern Gulf is illegal, but they plan to hold lease sales anyway. That is why Congress must pass my bipartisan Florida Coastal Protection Act to enshrine permanent coastal protections in law and protect Florida’s waters, our planet, our pocketbooks and our people from costly oil disasters.  

 

“Fifteen years after the BP spill, people are still struggling and communities are still using recovery funds to rebuild. Big Oil doesn’t need more help; they already sit on thousands of unused leases and receive $14 billion in taxpayer subsidies each year. 

 

“After shutting down the government for seven weeks, it’s telling that President Trump’s priority is pushing a pro-polluter agenda. While hardworking families face a crushing cost-of-living crisis, Republicans are doubling down to sell off America’s oceans to their polluter friends. It’s not needed, not wanted and it’s another example of callous disregard for hardworking Americans.”

 

In January, the Biden-Harris Administration used its authority to permanently protect the Eastern Gulf of Mexico—including military training ranges, coastal ecosystems and the tourism and fishing industries central to Florida’s economy.

 

Castor’s bipartisan Florida Coastal Protection Act would codify a permanent ban on oil and gas drilling off Florida’s coast, safeguarding the state from the environmental and economic threats of offshore drilling.