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Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) issued the following statement after President Trump announced an extension and expansion of the moratorium on oil and gas drilling off the coasts of Florida.
 
“I am grateful President Trump remains committed to ensuring the ban on oil drilling off of Florida’s coast will remain in place well beyond 2022,” Rubio said. “In my many conversations with the President and members of his Administration, it was clear they were well aware of Florida’s unique and vulnerable coastal character, and that most Floridians are opposed to allowing offshore drilling off of the state’s coasts.”
 
“Today’s announcement confirms the Trump Administration is committed to protecting our State’s natural resources, our beaches that draw visitors from across the world, and our unique military assets that cannot be replicated anywhere else in this country,” Rubio continued. “I will continue working with the Administration and my colleagues in Congress, to secure a permanent legislative solution that cannot be undone by a future Administration.”
 
A timeline of Rubio’s recent efforts related to offshore drilling:
 

• On December 17, 2019, Rubio released the hold on MacGregor’s nomination after a conversation with Department of Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, in which Rubio was confident DOI understood the views of Floridians.
• On December 4, 2019, Rubio placed a hold on Katharine MacGregor’s nomination to be United States Deputy Secretary of the Interior. 
• On March 7, 2019, Rubio and Scott sent a letter to U.S. Department of the Interior Acting Secretary David Bernhardt urging that the Department’s next five-year Proposed Plan for offshore oil and gas drilling exclude all areas along Florida’s coast.
• On January 3, 2019, Rubio reintroduced the Florida Shores Protection and Fairness Act (S. 13), which would extend the current moratorium on offshore drilling in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico through 2027 and would allow Florida to access additional resources for coastal conservation that are available to the other Gulf states.
• On January 24, 2018, Rubio joined members of the Florida delegation in sending a letter to Interior Secretary Zinke reiterating strong opposition to any attempt to open up the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil and gas drilling.
• On January 19, 2018, Rubio and Dunn lead the entire Florida delegation in a letter to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to ensure Florida’s military capabilities are unaffected by the Interior Department’s offshore drilling proposal.
• On January 4, 2018, in response to the Interior Department’s release of its draft 2019-2024 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing plan, Rubio released a statement urging Secretary Zinke to recognize the Florida Congressional delegation’s bipartisan efforts to maintain and extend the moratorium in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, and remove this area for future planning purposes.
• On May 4, 2017, Rubio originally introduced the Florida Shores Protection and Fairness Act, which would extend the moratorium on energy exploration in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, and make Florida eligible to receive a share of revenue generated by drilling in the central and western portions of the Gulf.  Rubio reintroduced the bill (S. 13) on January 3, 2019.