IRVINE – Yesterday, the Trump Administration announced their plan to dramatically expand offshore drilling, including potential new leases off the coast of California. But what did vulnerable California Representatives Tom McClintock, Jeff Denham, David Valadao, Devin Nunes, Steve Knight, Ed Royce, Mimi Walters, Dana Rohrabacher, Darrell Issa, or Duncan Hunter, Jr. have to say about this pending environmental catastrophe?
Crickets.
Maybe that’s because California’s Republican delegation in Washington has a long record of advocating for Big Oil and offshore drilling, rather than those of their constituents. Who can blame them? Especially when the pay is so good – just ask Ed Royce, who’s taken $323,999 from Big Oil & Gas over his more than two decades in Washington. Or Mimi Walters, who’s taken $177,600 from oil and gas interests in just two terms. Dana Rohrabacher has taken $93,854, and ethics-challenged Darrell Issa has taken $351,910 since he was first elected.
Californians have seen firsthand the dangers of offshore drilling, and remember the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill that changed Golden State politics forever. And a July poll found that only 25% of Californians support offshore drilling, while 69% oppose.
“Republicans in Washington appear hell-bent on destroying our clean air and water by building oil rigs off the California coast. Not only does this Republican plan to drill for oil along our coastline present real dangers to our health and environment, it poses a threat to California’s economy.”
BACKGROUND
Ed Royce Opposed Obama’s Moratorium On Offshore Drilling And Said “Utilizing Our Nation’s Vast Energy Supplies” Would “Significantly Reduce Our Use Of Foreign Oil: “Do you support a moratorium or ban on offshore drilling? Why or why not? Avalos: I support the current moratorium President Obama has placed on offshore drilling while we secure alternative energy sources to protect our environment. Royce: Prohibitions imposed on domestic energy production only help drive up energy costs. Over the next 10 years, if we take no action to increase our domestic energy sources, it is estimated that the U.S. will spend $10 trillion on foreign oil, much of it going to countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran and Venezuela. By utilizing our nation’s vast energy supplies we can significantly reduce our use of foreign oil, doing so is an economic necessity.” [Orange County Register, 9/23/10]
After Touring An Oil Production Field Located Near The Site Of The 2010 BP Oil Spill, Mimi Walters Talked Up Offshore Drilling And Said It “Is Very Safe Today, Much Safer Than It Was In The Past.” “The House members — seven Republicans and one Democrat — were flown to a Hess offshore production field about 65 miles off the Louisiana coast. The production field is in the Mississippi Canyon, a deep-water location near the site of the massive BP oil spill in 2010. […] ‘I enjoyed learning how we extract oil from the ocean,’ said U.S. Rep. Mimi Walters, R-Calif., during the tour of the platform. She said drilling ‘is very safe today, much safer than it was in the past.’” [Associated Press, 4/9/15]
Dana Rohrabacher Supported Offshore Oil Drilling, Referenced Untapped Oil Off California’s Coast And Said It Was A “Sin Against Our People” If Such Drilling Was Denied. “If I thought that offshore drilling imperiled the ocean, I would oppose offshore oil drilling – but that is simply not true. … Just off the coast of California, there are enormous untapped oil and gas reserves. … Why are we denying this to our people, at a time of hardship? The federal government, as well as state and local governments, and especially in California, we sorely need new sources of revenue. It’s right there! Denying America the benefits of our own country’s oil and gas deposits is a sin against our people, and it’s bad environmental policy to boot.” [RepDanaRohrabacher YouTube, 12/08/12]
Dana Rohrabacher “Sees The Oil Rig Lights Off California Shores As Beautiful.” “Rohrabacher calls environmentalists ‘the worst liars in the world’ and sees the oil rig lights off California shores as beautiful. He preaches against U.S. trade policies toward the ‘bloody-fisted tyrants in Beijing’ and criticizes studies on global warming as ‘junk science.’” [Los Angeles Times, 12/1/96]
Dana Rohrabacher Co-Sponsored Bill To Allow Offshore Oil Drilling Off The Coast Of California. “Rep. Ken Calvert introduced a bill Thursday to allow drilling off the coast of California. … Under Calvert’s measure – called the MORE Act, Maximize Offshore Resource Exploration – would revoke the congressional moratorium on offshore drilling, the only thing standing in way of such efforts[.]” [OC Register, 7/17/08]
Issa Favored Offshore Drilling. “On environmental issues, Boxer and Fong are against offshore oil drilling in California; Issa favors it.” [San Jose Mercury News, 5/31/98]