From Washington, D.C.

Sat, 01/13/2018 - 8:15pm

Congresswoman Chellie Pingree is co-sponsoring bipartisan legislation to permanently prohibit oil and gas drilling off the New England coast.

“The plan to rollback a decades-old ban on drilling for gas and oil along our coasts has to be one of the most outrageous and irresponsible proposals to come out of the Trump Administration,” she said, in a news release. “Here in Maine, thousands of people depend on our coast’s beauty and natural resources to make a living. Our lobstermen already have enough to worry about with warming waters and ocean acidification—do we really need to add a potential oil spill to that list?” Pingree said. “You shouldn’t have to be political chums with President Trump, like Florida Governor Rick Scott, to have your state protected. I’m proud to cosponsor the legislation along with all other members from New England’s coastal states.”

Pingree is cosponsoring the New England Coastline Protection Act, introduced yesterday by Representative David Cicilline (D-RI), which would prohibit oil and gas exploration off of the coast of New England, from Maine to Connecticut. A companion bill has been introduced in the Senate and every Senator and Representative from New England coastal states have signed on as cosponsors.

Pingree also released a video this week voicing her opposition to the drilling expansion plan.