A group of Republicans is seeking to reinstate protections for Florida’s Gulf Test Range in the Gulf of Mexico after they were removed as part of the Democrat-passed $749 billion Inflation Reduction Act.
Congress passed the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act in 2006 that prohibited oil and gas development and exploration east of the Military Mission Line in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, which is one of the U.S. military’s most important testing and training areas.
“Unfortunately, the Inflation Reduction Act stripped that protection and opens the door to offshore wind development in the Gulf Test Range. Energy development in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico would catastrophically jeopardize the Gulf Test Range, which is crucial to our readiness for a fight in the Indo-Pacific,” the letter states.
It cites a report from fiscal year 2018 required by the National Defense Authorization Act which states that the Eastern Gulf of Mexico is an “irreplaceable national asset.”
The letter was sent by Sens Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.), and signed by 13 other Republican representatives.
The letter was addressed to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
Legislation
On Sept. 22, Rubio introduced S.4943, also known as “Preserving the Gulf Test Range to Ensure Military Readiness Act,” in the Senate.The bill seeks to ensure that once the act is passed, the secretary of interior shall not lease, prelease, or allow any related activity for energy development in the Military Mission Line or any of the defined outer Continental Shelf areas in the region until June 30, 2032.
The outer Continental Shelf areas will include west of the Military Mission Line, the Straits of Florida Planning Area, and the South Atlantic Planning Area.
Green Energy Push
The Biden administration has been pushing to implement wind projects as part of its attempt to shift the country into adopting green energy.“I’ve directed my administration to clear every federal hurdle and streamline federal permitting that brings these clean energy projects online right now and right away,” Biden said.