Statement on House Action To Lift the Moratorium on Oil and Gas Drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf

Today's vote by a House subcommittee to lift the moratorium on oil and gas drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf would overturn a longtime bipartisan consensus on the need to protect the environment and economies of California, Florida, the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, and other coastal States.

This action is a mistake, and I will have no part of it. I will not allow oil and gas drilling off our Nation's most sensitive coastlines on my watch. America's coastlines are simply too important to our economy and our way of life.

This is yet another example of the zealous efforts of the Republican Congress to roll back environmental laws. Those laws serve the American people well, and I will fight to maintain them.