Prohibit Coastal California Drilling. This amendment to the Interior Department appropriations bill (H.R. 5093) "provides that none of the funds in the bill may be expended by the Department of the Interior to approve any exploration plan, any development and production plan, any application for permit to drill or to permit any drilling on certain Outer Continental Shelf Southern California Planning Area leases." According to Congressional Quarterly, this amendment "would prevent the government from allowing drilling in California waters on 36 leases held by oil and gas companies…. [Amendment sponsor Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.)] said Californians fear that if an oil spill occurred, it would harm the state’s tourist industry." This NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) attitude has led to our present heavy dependence on imported oil from the Middle East and other potentially unfriendly regions.
The House adopted Capps’ amendment to H.R. 5093 on July 17, 2002 by a vote of 252 to 172 (Roll Call 315). We have assigned pluses to the nays.
