The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“GULF OF MEXICO OIL DRILLING MORATORIUM” mentioning the Department of Interior was published in the Senate section on pages S2654-S2655 on May 1, 2017.
The Department oversees more than 500 million acres of land. Downsizing the Federal Government, a project aimed at lowering taxes and boosting federal efficiency, said the department has contributed to a growing water crisis and holds many lands which could be better managed.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
GULF OF MEXICO OIL DRILLING MORATORIUM
Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, there has been a longstanding question of whether there would be drilling for oil in the eastern Gulf of Mexico off of the State of Florida.
This had been settled in law 10 years ago. Then, my colleague Senator Mel Martinez and I passed a portion of legislation called GOMESA. That portion of the legislation put the drilling off of Florida in the eastern Gulf--everything east of a north-south line called the Military Mission Line, which is a line running south of approximately Fort Walton Beach--everything east of that is off limits in law to any kind of oil drilling activity, along with the remainder of the coast of Florida; 125 miles from the coast going all the way over to Pensacola and to the Perdido River, which is the Alabama-Florida line.
The reasons for this are many, but not the least of which is called the Military Mission Line. That area of the Gulf off of Florida is the largest testing and training area for the United States military in the world. Compared to other testing ranges, such as the Nevada Test Site--
it dwarfs that site. As we can see, from north to south, we have ranges as far as 300 miles from east to west. For example, off of Naples, FL, all the way west to the Military Mission Line is approximately 250 miles. That has been needed by our U.S. military because of the testing and training.
It has been doubted over the years as the relentless pursuit of oil drilling by the oil industry has tried to erode into that, and that is why, in a bipartisan way, Senator Martinez and I put in law for the period of years through 2022, from when we passed this back in 2006, it off limits.
The question is, What is coming afterward? Well, of course if it is up to the Department of Defense, there will be no oil drilling activity. That is what I wanted to bring to the attention of the Senate today.
Two previous Secretaries of Defense in Republican administrations, including Secretary Rumsfeld, have written letters to state the policy that any oil-related activity in that testing and training range would be incompatible with the mission of the testing and training of the U.S. military.
The reason I am bringing this to the attention of the Senate today is that a letter signed by the Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness has just come into my possession. A gentleman named Mr. A.M. Kurta writes:
I have been asked to respond to your letter--
This is to Congressman Matt Gaetz--
on behalf of the Secretary of Defense.
This is regarding the maintaining of the moratorium on oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico beyond the year 2022. The letter states:
The Department of Defense (DoD) cannot overstate the vital importance of maintaining this moratorium.
Why is that? The letter goes on to explain not only the necessity of which so many of our bases in the area--Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City, all the testing and training of the F-22, the training of our pilots there; Eglin Air Force Base, the testing and the training of the pilots for the F-35. Remember, the F-35 is being sold to many foreign nations, the testing and training of those pilots, as well, but now, with new technologies--I quote from the letter:
Emerging technologies such as hypersonics, autonomous systems, and advanced sub-surface systems will require enlarged testing and training footprints, and increased DoD reliance on the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act's moratorium beyond 2022. The moratorium is essential for developing and sustaining our nation's future combat capabilities.
So I think it is pretty clear.
There is one other issue. This all follows the fact that this Senator filed a bill last January to extend this moratorium. I will point out that just recently a bipartisan delegation from Florida--a majority of the Members of the Florida delegation, bipartisan--signed a letter to the Department of the Interior and the Department of Defense requesting the extension of this moratorium in law past the year 2022. The response from the Department of Defense has come today.
There is one further issue, and that is, if it is off limits to oil drilling in law, is there any question that it ought to be off limits to seismic testing? To the author of the original legislation 10 years ago, that should be clear, but--therefore we ought to clarify it. The request of the Department of Defense is:
[A] question arose concerning whether Congress intended the moratorium to prohibit even geological and geophysical survey activities in the eastern Gulf. We would welcome clarification from Congress concerning this matter.
So it will be this Senator's intent, joining in a bipartisan way with colleagues from Florida, to get that clarification in extending the moratorium.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the letter be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
Washington, DC, April 26, 2017.Hon. Matt Gaetz,House of Representatives,Washington, DC.
Dear Representative Gaetz: Thank you for your letter dated March 24, 2017, regarding maintaining the moratorium on oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico beyond 2022. Since military readiness falls under my purview, I have been asked to respond to your letter on behalf of the Secretary of Defense. The Department of Defense (DoD) cannot overstate the vital importance of maintaining this moratorium.
National security and energy security are inextricably linked and the DoD fully supports the development of our nation's domestic energy resources in a manner that is compatible with military testing, training, and operations. As mentioned in your letter, the complex of eastern Gulf of Mexico operating areas and warning areas provides critical opportunities for advanced weapons testing and joint training exercises. The moratorium on oil and gas ``leasing, pre-leasing, and other related activities'' ensures that these vital military readiness activities may be conducted without interference and is critical to their continuation. Emerging technologies such as hypersonics, autonomous systems, and advanced sub-surface systems will require enlarged testing and training footprints, and increased DoD reliance on the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act's moratorium beyond 2022. The moratorium is essential for developing and sustaining our nation's future combat capabilities.
Since signing the 1983 ``Memorandum of Agreement Between the Department of Defense and the Department of the Interior on Mutual Concerns on the Outer Continental Shelf,'' the two departments have worked cooperatively to ensure offshore resource development is compatible with military readiness activities. During recent discussions between the DoD and the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, a question arose concerning whether Congress intended the moratorium to prohibit even geological and geophysical survey activities in the eastern Gulf. We would welcome clarification from Congress concerning this matter.
On behalf of the Secretary, I appreciate your interest in sustaining our testing and training activities in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
Sincerely,A.M. Kurta,
Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.
Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, in conclusion, we can't have oil drilling, not only for our national security and the testing and training of our most sophisticated weapons systems in the Gulf off of Florida, but also we couldn't stand it if we had another oil spill that would do to us what the last one did. It was a spill way far west off of Louisiana, but it drifted to the east and blackened the sugary white sands of Pensacola Beach and Destin Beach, and there were tar balls as far east as Panama City Beach. Because of that, we lost an entire season of our guests, our tourists. They did not come to the Gulf Coast of Florida, not just in the Florida panhandle but all the way south down the Gulf to Naples and to Marco Island--a $60 billion per year tourism industry for Florida's economy. We can't suffer that kind of shock again.
So whether it be the degradation of the environment, the messing up of the training and testing of our U.S. military and their largest testing and training range, or the devastating economic loss to Florida of its tourism industry--for all those reasons, we need to pass this legislation. It will be coming forth in a bipartisan fashion.
Mr. President, I yield the floor.
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