Re: Oppose S. 3711, the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006
12/04/06

U.S. House
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Representative:

The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is the political voice of the national environmental community. Each year, LCV publishes the National Environmental Scorecard, which details the voting records of Members of Congress on environmental legislation. The Scorecard is distributed to LCV members, concerned voters nationwide, and the press.

LCV urges you to oppose S. 3711, the so-called Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006. This backwardlooking legislation fails to address our energy problems, raids the federal treasury, and threatens our coastal economies and ecosystems with pollution and oil spills.

Opening more of our coastlines to drilling is clearly not the answer to our energy problems, especially given that eighty percent of offshore oil and gas resources are already open to drilling, and oil companies currently hold more than 4,000 untapped leases in the Gulf of Mexico. Instead of despoiling our shores and perpetuating our dependence on oil, Congress should pursue faster, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly solutions, including making cars and trucks go further on a gallon of gasoline and increasing our use of clean, renewable energy such as wind and solar power.

Unfortunately, rather than using American ingenuity to advance a new energy future that benefits both the economy and the environment, S. 3711 continues to promote failed policies of the past. It opens eight million acres of Florida's Gulf Coast waters to offshore drilling rigs, including more than six million acres that are currently protected by the bipartisan moratorium on offshore drilling that has been in place for twenty-five
years. S. 3711 would also divert tens of billions of dollars in offshore drilling revenues from the federal treasury and give the money to just four states.

We urge you to protect our coasts, our environment, and our economy by voting NO on S. 3711, and instead supporting real solutions to our energy problems. LCV has scored offshore drilling votes on numerous occasions in the past few years, and the Political Committee will strongly consider updating the 2006 Scorecard to include this vote. If you need more information, please call Tiernan Sittenfeld or Nat Mund at my office at (202) 785-8683. 

Sincerely,

Gene Karpinski
President, LCV