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Floor Speech

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Mr. SCOTT of Florida. Mr. President, I want to first thank my colleague from Florida, Senator Moody. I am proud to work together with her to protect Florida's shores, which is very, very, very important to Floridians.

As Floridians, we know that our beaches and coastal waters are vital to the State's economy, environment, tourism, and military community. I have worked for years, both as Florida's Governor and U.S. Senator, to keep oil drilling off our coast. We do not want oil drilling on our coast.

In 2018, I was proud to work with President Trump, during his first term, to extend the moratorium on oil drilling off Florida's coasts through 2032, and I have fought to codify this action since I got to the Senate.

Florida's shorelines are not only an iconic and pristine part of the State's environment; they also generate jobs in the area and support billions in tourism revenue.

Florida's beaches alone contribute more than $127 billion per year to the State's economy, just in tourism spending. People come from all over the world to enjoy our beaches. And 2.1 million jobs held by Floridians are tourism-related jobs.

Our coasts are also a critical national security point for military training with the Gulf Test Range. Anybody that has done testing, if you have served along the Panhandle, you know how important the military training is on the testing there for the Gulf Test Range. This range is an essential part of the Department of War's military training and is supported by several military communities along Florida's Panhandle.

It is the largest multidomain military training complex in the country, where our Armed Forces can conduct advanced military testing, training, and evaluation of air and weapons systems. There is no place in the world like being able to test and train off the coast of Florida.

The administration is right. We need to unleash America's energy, including American oil, but we can do that without sacrificing America's most important military training ground or hurting Florida's economy or shoreline.

I recently wrote a letter that was signed by the entire bipartisan Florida delegation--it is led by Senator Moody and me--urging President Trump to continue his commitment to keeping Florida's coast off the table for oil drilling and uphold his moratorium.

Along with Senator Moody, I will always fight to keep oil drilling off of Florida's coast to support our economy, our environment, and our Nation's military readiness.

I look forward to continuing to work closely with the President, Senator Moody, and all our colleagues on this important issue.

I yield back to my colleague from Florida, Senator Moody.

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