American Shores Protection Act of 2025

Reserving the right to object, this legislation has not been through regular order. It has not received a legislative hearing, and it hasn't been marked up. And it hasn't been reported by the committee of jurisdiction. As a result, there has been no opportunity, with all of those stops along the legislative pathway having been skipped--there has been no opportunity--for Members of this body, for members of the Trump administration, for the two principal involved Agencies within the U.S. Department of the Interior, known as BOEM and BSEE, to provide their feedback or offer testimony on the implications of this legislation.

Now, look, the Senate's committee process exists, and it exists for a reason. It exists for exactly these sets of reasons. While it might have slightly different implications depending on the committee involved and depending on the type of legislation, there are reasons why these things are there, and almost regardless of which committee is affected, you can normally benefit from this. And, in fact, it is normally quite hazardous to just bypass all of this, because that is how we legislate, without making sure that we have gone through all the necessary steps.

This process that has evolved over the last, roughly, two and a half centuries allows legislation to be examined in a transparent and a deliberative

way, with input from affected Agencies, from industries, from the President of the United States and members of his administration, and Senators on both sides of the aisle, including but not limited to the Senators of the States who might be behind the legislation in question.

Before legislation is advanced to the floor, it should be vetted through that process so that the Senate can fully understand and appreciate its scope, its effect, its legal posture, and whatever unintended or intended consequences the legislation might have.

I have made it clear, from the beginning, that I am willing to work with the Senator from Florida. In fact, I have offered to place it on the agenda for the next subcommittee hearing within the Energy Subcommittee of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. That would provide the Trump administration with the opportunity to weigh in with its views and allow us to hear analysis from BOEM and BSEE and any other Agencies that are affected--consistent with how the committee has considered other legislation within its jurisdiction this year, and consistent with the way it has always done it in the 15 years I have been a U.S. Senator.

As chairman of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, I have consistently stated that bills within the committee's jurisdiction should proceed through regular order. That process positions bills for successful consideration on the floor, consideration by the House, and, ultimately, enactment into law.

Skipping that process allows a bill to jump ahead of others that have followed the rules and respected the committee system.

So my objection today is not based on the merits of the underlying policy. It is based on the process. But the process is important to getting the policy right. That is why we don't skip it. That is why, in the absence of a compelling, overwhelming, urgent reason, we don't just ignore it, and I can't and won't ignore it here.

The Senate should not abandon its regular order by advancing legislation that has not been considered by the committee of jurisdiction.

I look forward to working with my friend and colleague the distinguished Senator from Florida to consider her bill in the Energy and Natural Resources Committee in a transparent matter.

Until that occurs, I must object and object now.

Mr. President, I respect and deeply appreciate my friend and colleague the distinguished Senator from Florida. And I respect and admire her great devotion to protecting her State, its pristine beaches, and the many qualities that it enjoys. People from all over the United States of America and all over the world love going to Florida. No one wants to take that away.

I, nonetheless, take umbrage--great umbrage in fact--to a couple of characterizations to which I must now respond. First, as to what she characterizes as the ``long bureaucratic process,'' this process is itself quite short, especially in comparison to an actual bureaucratic process, which it is not. Make no mistake, this is not a bureau; this is not bureaucratic process; this is a legislative process. It is a legislative process that has endured for hundreds of years in this country, and it may not be perfect, but it is the best one we have got. It existed for many hundreds of years before that in our mother country, before we became our own country. There are reasons why these things develop. To call it a long bureaucratic process is neither fair nor accurate, and it misapprehends the nature of the legislative task, including the legislative task before us at this very moment.

Now, with regard to the suggestion that by not passing this today-- not passing it after leapfrogging over about 10 legislative steps that are essential to that process--we are somehow threatening Florida's pristine beaches and waters, this is simply not true. That couldn't be more untrue.

Let's remember what happened in 2020. President Trump issued a moratorium. That moratorium stays in place until 2032. Absent some other action taken pursuant to that, the status quo is to protect them.

What she is trying to do is to protect against President Trump doing anything consistent with his authority, consistent with that 2020 order. She is trying to tie his hands to prevent him from even figuring out what is there, to figure out whether there is a cost-benefit analysis on any of that.

Now, sure, the Senate can consider that from time to time. And perhaps after the legislative process--not the bureaucratic process. That is something different. That doesn't exist here. Nor is this simply a delay for the sake of delay. I pride myself in running the Energy and Natural Resources Committee and bringing forth these hearings as expeditiously as possible, and I have offered to put it on the next appropriate subcommittee hearing.

Now, if a mere delay of a few weeks or a few months, where it takes that time, isn't acceptable, I would like to know why. We have yet to hear a single reason, a single argument as to the parade of horribles of what could happen if we don't, as she would do here, tie President Trump's hands and bind further legislatively beyond what he has already bound himself to through his own 2020 Executive order.

So this is in place. It will remain in place. And there has yet to be a single reason articulated as to why we should treat this as an emergency. There is nobody going down there to drill right now. We still have got the Agencies that are looking at it. The least we can do in consideration of President Trump, his administration, and the affected Agencies, including those that I have mentioned earlier today--most particularly BOEM--is to hear them out first. In the absence of a compelling reason to leapfrog all of that, I must and will continue to object.

Mr. President, I rise today to move for unanimous consent on the American Shores Protection Act, and this would codify President Trump's 2020 moratorium on drilling off Florida's Gulf of America and Atlantic coasts.

Florida has worked with President Trump for years to keep these operations off our pristine coast and not just for a sunny day to enjoy the gulf but because our coasts are a vital component of our State's economic success. In fact, Florida's beaches alone generate more than $127.7 billion a year in tourism spending and support more than 2.1 million related jobs.

However, these great resources are vulnerable to risks posed by new offshore drilling.

We all saw the devastating harm caused by the Deepwater Horizon oilspill in 2010. That disaster wiped billions of dollars from Florida's industries and caused horrific damage to our environment and coastal communities. Places like Panama City Beach, Pensacola, and Destin all saw dramatic drops in tourist revenues that summer, following the catastrophe. Even places like Clearwater, St. Petersburg, and Miami Beach suffered a decline in visitors after the oilspill.

Our coasts also play an important role in securing our Nation. The Gulf Test Range, a big part of the Department of War's training to ensure mission readiness, is supported by multiple military bases in Florida's Panhandle. More than 50,000 jobs in the Panhandle depend directly on operations at military facilities in this area. Eglin Air Force Base, in Okaloosa County, alone employs 20,000 people and provides the country with $11 billion in economic impact every year.

If there were new offshore drilling in the Gulf Test Range, these activities that support national security would have to be reduced, meaning job cuts in an area that depends heavily on military activities.

As a fifth generation Floridian, preserving our State's natural beauty is deeply important to me and all Floridians and the millions that call the Sunshine State home, as well as those who come to visit and vacation. It is my mission to protect our State's coastline, from Pensacola Beach, where the Blue Angels fly, to Duval Street in Key West; from the iconic South Beach in Miami to Fernandina in the very tip of Northeast Florida, all for our next generation.

I appreciate my colleague's support as we work together to ensure oil drilling stays off our beaches and we pass the American Shores Protection Act.

And if I may defer to my fellow Senator from Florida, Senator Rick Scott.

Mr. President, as if in legislative session and notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be discharged from further consideration of S. 3082 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration; further, that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table.

Mr. President, I thank my colleague for taking the time to come down here today. I will note that he spent a lot of time talking about the long bureaucratic process; that this must go through every single step; and that we must get the policy right and going through the things that might take years, as we have seen happen in the Senate. It is what the American people are tired of, and I did not come here as the newest U.S. Senator to do business as usual. In fact, do you see where my desk is? It is on the very last row, almost to the edge of the Senate, because I am one of the newest Senators. We need to do things different. We need to get things done.

In respect to the pristine beaches of Florida, we have to act with a sense of urgency. As far as getting policy right, this simply codifies President Trump's 2020 moratorium on drilling off Florida's Gulf of America and Atlantic coasts. This policy has been negotiated and talked about, and it is already in a moratorium. This would simply codify that.

I so appreciate my colleague offering to set this on the agenda, and I appreciate that. I hope my other Senate colleagues recognize the urgency to get this done. I can't think of anything more top of mind for Floridians right now.

I am proud to be here, along with my colleague Senator Scott, to fight for Floridians and fight for Florida's livelihood, our pristine natural resources.

Thank you. I appreciate my colleague's willingness to work in the next week or few months. Thank you so much.

I yield the floor.

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.

As if in legislative session and notwithstanding rule XXII, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources be discharged from further consideration of S. 3082 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration; further, that the bill be considered read a third time and passed, and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. And prior to any further ruling by the chair, if I might make a comment--I withdraw so I might be able to make a comment, and then I will resubmit it.

The senior Senator from Florida.