STATEMENT: Sen. Schiff Condemns Trump Administration’s Plan to Target Pacific Coast for New Offshore Oil Drilling

Washington, DC - Today, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) released the following statement in response to the Trump administration's reported plan to open up federal waters in the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean off the California coast to offshore oil drilling:

"President Trump's Big Oil agenda will have devastating impacts on our coastlines if the administration decides to open California's waters to dangerous offshore oil projects.

"In order to keep our beaches and coastal communities safe, we must defeat this plan and the administration's attacks on renewable energy projects that are both environmentally responsible and good for our economy."

Background: Senator Schiff has been a strong opponent of restarting oil drilling off the California coast and has advocated for renewable energy sources to strengthen environmental protections. He published an op-ed with the Los Angeles Times strongly opposing Sable Offshore Corporation's attempts to restart oil drilling operations. Additionally, earlier this year, Schiff and Rep. Carbajal wrote to Governor Gavin Newsom raising concerns about the potential restart of offshore oil drilling operations along California's Gaviota Coast by Sable Offshore Corp, and most recently demanded answers from the Trump administration on its involvement in Sable Offshore Corporation's attempts to restart offshore oil drilling using the same pipelines that caused the Refugio State Beach oil spill of 2015.

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