{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.reed.senate.gov/news/releases/reed-and-whitehouse-demand-trump-reverse-plan-to-open-new-offshore-oil-and-gas-leases", "Reed & Whitehouse Demand Trump Reverse Plan to Open New Offshore Oil and Gas Leases", "2025-10-30", "2025", "2025-10", "Democrat", "Senate", "RI", "Jack Reed", "R000122", "www.reed.senate.gov", "jackreed", "https://www.reed.senate.gov/news/releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 In response to leaked plans that the Trump Administration wants to open up offshore drilling along the East and West coasts, U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), the top Democrat on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, today joined over 100 lawmakers in demanding President Trump and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum immediately cease any plans to open new offshore oil and gas leases in U.S. federal waters off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, in the Arctic Ocean and northern Bering Sea off of Alaska, and in the Eastern Gulf.\n\nThe lawmakers warned that opening these untouched coastlines to new offshore drilling would devastate coastal economies, jeopardize our national security, ravage coastal ecosystems, and put millions of Americans\u2019 health and safety at risk, hurting people across the political spectrum.\n\nBy reversing long-standing legal protections for vulnerable coastal waters, new offshore leases would cause significant environmental damage to communities already reeling from natural disasters and recent oil spills. Oil spills not only cause irreparable environmental damage, but also suppress the value of coastal homes, harm tourism economies, and weaken coastal infrastructure. Already, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is forced to respond to over 150 oil and chemical spills each year. One disastrous spill can cost taxpayers billions in lost revenue, cleanup costs, and ecosystem restoration.\n\nThese threats of expanded oil drilling come as the Administration already dismantled NOAA\u2019s oil spill prevention and response programs, as almost 30 percent of the team in charge of addressing oil spills has been laid off or took early retirement. The Emergency Response Division team and the oil spill program would also lose half their funding under the Administration\u2019s proposed FY 2026 budget.\n\n\u201cThis is a matter of national consequence for coastal communities across the country, regardless of political affiliation. It puts our economies, national security, and our most vulnerable ecosystems at severe risk,\u201d wrote the lawmakers. \u201c\u2026 Expanded oil and gas leasing poses risks to the health and livelihoods of our constituents, jeopardizes our tourism, fishing, and recreation economies, and threatens the marine life that inhabits our coastlines.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe United States already leads the world in oil and gas production. The industry currently holds more than 2,000 offshore leases covering over 12 million acres of federal waters \u2014 yet fewer than 500 of those leases are actively producing oil and gas,\u201d continued the lawmakers. \u201cThere is no justification for opening vast swaths of our oceans to leasing when existing leases remain largely unused, while imposing mounting environmental and economic costs on coastal communities.\u201d\n\nAdditionally, the Department of Defense (DOD) previously warned that oil and gas leases in portions of the Eastern Gulf would impact areas critical to our military readiness, including for military training and testing opportunities and assets. DOD has also signaled that parts of the Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic Planning Areas are \u201cnot compatible with oil and gas activities and infrastructure.\u201d\n\nThe lawmakers condemned the potential expansion of offshore drilling while the Administration simultaneously curtails offshore wind and clean energy development. This year, the Trump Administration has halted all outer continental offshore wind leasing, rescinded all designated Wind Energy Areas, and eliminated $679 million in offshore-wind-related port infrastructure funding.\n\nSpecifically, the lawmakers demanded that President Trump and Secretary Burgum:\n\n\u2022 Halt any steps toward new offshore oil and gas leasing in the Atlantic, Pacific, off the coast the Arctic and Bering Sea coasts of Alaska, and the Eastern Gulf;\n\n\u2022 Limit offshore drilling, consistent with previous statutory and agency protections;\n\n\u2022 Prioritize coastal resilience, including expanded storm-surge and flood protection, restoration of wetlands and sand dunes, and early-warning systems, so that communities in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, New Jersey, Alaska, and beyond are better protected; and\n\n\u2022 Restore a credible pathway for offshore wind and other clean-energy projects by rescinding the OCS wind-leasing withdrawal and rescinded WEAs, enabling science-based projects that support jobs and coastal economies.\n\n\u201cOur coastal communities, fishermen, small business owners, Tribal Nations, tourism operators, and families cannot be sacrificed in the name of short-term drilling booms,\u201d concluded the lawmakers. \u201cOpening new offshore lease areas while cancelling clean energy progress is potentially illegal, a failure of leadership, and a dereliction of the public trust.\u201d\n\nSenator Reed co-leads the COAST Act (S.1486) with U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Senator Whitehouse leads the bipartisan New England Coastal Protection Act (S.1472). Whitehouse has long been the lead sponsor of legislation to permanently ban offshore oil and gas drilling off the coast of New England. While working in the Rhode Island Attorney General\u2019s office, Whitehouse assisted Attorney General James O\u2019Neill with the state\u2019s response to the 1989 World Prodigy oil spill. As U.S. Attorney, Whitehouse led the federal response to the 1996 North Cape oil spill, securing what was then the largest settlement payment in Rhode Island history.\n\nIn addition to Reed and Whitehouse, the letter was also signed by U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Angus King (I-ME), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).\n\nIn 2018, during President Trump\u2019s first term, his administration proposed opening up vast stretches of the Atlantic Coast to offshore drilling. However, thanks to strong public resistance by residents from coastal towns and inland cities, Trump\u2019s attempt to drill for oil near East Coast beaches was defeated.\n\nThe 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and well were located off the coast of Louisiana when an explosion and blow-out released about 171 million gallons of oil in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil coated more than 1,100 miles of the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Florida.\n\nFull text of the letter follows:\n\nDear Mr. President and Secretary Burgum:\n\nWe write to express our strongest opposition to any effort to open new offshore oil and gas leasing in federal waters off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, in the Arctic Ocean and northern Bering Sea off of Alaska, and in the Eastern Gulf. This is a matter of national consequence for coastal communities across the country, regardless of political affiliation. It puts our economies, national security, and our most vulnerable ecosystems at severe risk. These reported proposals would reverse long-standing protections that shield sensitive coastal waters from new drilling, including withdrawals under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, statutory moratoria, and agency restrictions.\n\nExpanded oil and gas leasing poses risks to the health and livelihoods of our constituents, jeopardizes our tourism, fishing, and recreation economies, and threatens the marine life that inhabits our coastlines. Many of these communities are already reeling from compounded disasters: hurricanes, sea-level rise, storm surge, and the lingering legacy of oil-spill disasters. Since 1980, hurricanes alone have generated well over $1.5 trillion in damage in the United States. Expanding offshore leasing increases the likelihood that future storms, oil spills, or other disasters will impose even greater burdens on front-line coastal communities.\n\nIn addition to storms, the threat of oil spills remains real and costly. For example, the U.S. Coast Guard reported a spill of more than 30,000 gallons of \u201coily-watery mixture\u201d off Louisiana\u2019s coast earlier this year. Oil spill damage threatens not just the environment, but the value of coastal homes, the health of tourism economies, and the resilience of coastal infrastructure. A single catastrophic spill could cost taxpayers, states, and local communities tens of billions of dollars in cleanup costs, lost revenue, and degraded ecosystems. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) already responds to over 150 oil and chemical spills in U.S. waters every year. Under the administration\u2019s proposed plan, every part of the United States\u2019 coastline would be at risk of disaster.\n\nThese risks are magnified by the administration\u2019s dismantling of NOAA and its oil spill prevention and response programs. Nearly 30 percent of NOAA\u2019s Office of Response and Restoration Emergency Response Division staff\u2014the team that addresses oil spills\u2014were already laid off or took early retirement as part of the administration\u2019s ongoing reductions in force. The administration\u2019s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget would cut in half funding for the oil spill program and the Emergency Response Division.\n\nUnder the administration\u2019s reported plans, harmful seismic testing could take place across every coast. NOAA Fisheries recently concluded that oil and gas activities like seismic exploration in the Gulf of Mexico could drive the endangered Rice\u2019s whale\u2014of which only a few dozen individuals remain\u2014to extinction. Seismic testing for oil and gas disrupts communication, navigation, and breeding among whales, fish, and other marine species, inflicting irreversible harm on ocean ecosystems.\n\nThe administration\u2019s reported plans would also open up oil and gas leasing in areas the Department of Defense (DOD) has previously stated would be problematic for military readiness. Leaked documents report that the administration will conduct leasing in parts of the Eastern Gulf, which includes irreplaceable military training and testing opportunities and assets. The DOD has similarly labeled portions of the Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic Planning Areas \u201cnot compatible with oil and gas activities and infrastructure.\u201d\n\nThe United States already leads the world in oil and gas production. The industry currently holds more than 2,000 offshore leases covering over 12 million acres of federal waters \u2014yet fewer than 500 of those leases are actively producing oil and gas. There is no justification for opening vast swaths of our oceans to leasing when existing leases remain largely unused, while imposing mounting environmental and economic costs on coastal communities.\n\nWhile the administration prepares to expand offshore drilling, it is simultaneously undermining offshore wind and clean energy development, thereby reducing our ability to expand energy supplies and build resilient coastal economies. On January 20, 2025, the President issued a memorandum withdrawing all areas of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) from offshore wind leasing, pending review. On July 30, 2025, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) rescinded all designated Wind Energy Areas (WEAs). The Department of the Interior has issued directives curbing so-called \u201cpreferential treatment\u201d for wind and solar, and the U.S. Department of Transportation withdrew $679 million in offshore-wind-related port infrastructure funding. These actions raise electricity costs for families, make our coastlines less safe, and our communities more vulnerable.\n\nWe therefore urge your administration to take the following actions to reverse course immediately:\n\n1. Halt any steps toward new offshore oil and gas leasing in the Atlantic, Pacific, off the coast the Arctic and Bering Sea coasts of Alaska, and the Eastern Gulf;\n\n2. Limit offshore drilling, consistent with previous statutory and agency protections;\n\n3. Prioritize coastal resilience, including expanded storm-surge and flood protection, restoration of wetlands and sand dunes, and early-warning systems, so that communities in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, New Jersey, Alaska, and beyond are better protected; and\n\n4. Restore a credible pathway for offshore wind and other clean-energy projects by rescinding the OCS wind-leasing withdrawal and rescinded WEAs, enabling science-based projects that support jobs and coastal economies.\n\nProtecting our waters from offshore drilling is broadly supported by the American public. Nearly two-thirds of registered voters oppose new offshore drilling, and hundreds of municipalities along the Atlantic, Pacific, the eastern Gulf, and these regions of Alaska have passed formal resolutions against its expansion. These communities have made clear that safeguarding their coastal economies, fisheries, and way of life must take precedence over short-term fossil fuel interests. Our coastal communities, fishermen, small business owners, Tribal Nations, tourism operators, and families cannot be sacrificed in the name of short-term drilling booms. Opening new offshore lease areas while cancelling clean energy progress is potentially illegal, a failure of leadership, and a dereliction of the public trust.\n\nWe look forward to your prompt response detailing what specific steps the Administration will take to halt this course of action and recommit to safeguarding our nation\u2019s shores, economy, and shared future.\n\nSincerely,", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:32:54Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.reed.senate.gov/news/releases/reed-and-whitehouse-demand-trump-reverse-plan-to-open-new-offshore-oil-and-gas-leases"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4644879847764969, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}