Speeches and Floor Statements

With April 20th marking the 8th anniversary of the BP oil spill, Congressman Charlie Crist (D-St. Petersburg) took to the House floor to call for a ban on drilling off Florida's coasts. Crist was Governor of Florida at the time the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, causing the largest oil spill in U.S. history. Following that disaster, Crist proposed a constitutional amendment to prohibit offshore drilling and fought to hold BP accountable for the resulting damage to Florida's coastal communities. In Congress, he has been an outspoken advocate for our beaches and environment, sponsoring legislation to permanently ban drilling in the eastern Gulf and introducing legislation to keep the Administration from rolling back safety regulations put in place after Deepwater Horizon. 

Please find video and text of the Congressman's remarks below:



Statement of the Honorable Charlie Crist on the Anniversary of Deepwater Horizon
Friday marks the eighth anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. I was Governor of Florida at that time.

I remember the tar balls, I remember them coming up on our beautiful beaches.  Marine life covered in toxic sludge. The harm done to Florida’s tourism and fisheries industries. And of course the tragic life that was lost on the Deepwater Horizon itself.

I haven’t forgotten it. Florida has not forgotten it.

We must never have drilling off the Florida coast. We should take that argument off the table.