2018 -- H 7179

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2018

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

EXPRESSING OPPOSITION TO PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP'S DECISION TO

ALLOW OFFSHORE DRILLING IN MOST OF AMERICA’S COASTAL WATERS

     Introduced By: Representatives Regunberg, Carson, Fogarty, Shanley, and Tanzi

     Date Introduced: January 17, 2018

     Referred To: House Judiciary

     WHEREAS, On January 4th, 2018, the Trump administration announced that it would

allow offshore oil drilling in most United States coastal waters, an announcement vigorously

opposed by all environmental groups and numerous governors and members of Congress,

including a number of elected Republican officials; and

     WHEREAS, President Trump's decision lifts the ban on offshore oil drilling that was

imposed by President Barack Obama. It opens up approximately one billion acres of territory to

oil drilling and exploration and would implement 47 drilling leases, the largest number of such

leases offered in the history of the United States. In addition, the Trump administration has

weakened offshore oil exploration and safety regulations, particularly safety equipment

regulations, all of which poses a severe threat to the environmental well-being of our nation and

the safety of countless people; and

     WHEREAS, President Trump's decision also poses a significant threat to our nation's,

and Rhode Island's, thriving tourism and fisheries industries. A 2014 industry report conducted by

IHS Consulting reported that in 2013 alone, the total impact of travel and tourism in Rhode Island

was $2.8 billion dollars, representing 5.3 percent of the state's Gross Product and accounting for

approximately 45,000 jobs - nearly ten percent of the state's total employment. Overall, tourism is

the fourth largest economic sector in Rhode Island. Also, in a report prepared by the Cornell

Cooperative Extension Marine Program, the fisheries industry in Rhode Island for 2010

employed 4,968 individuals; and

     WHEREAS, Nationally, tourism represented a $10.9 billion industry in the United States

as of 2013, and the commercial fishing and seafood industry accounted for $153 billion in sales

for the year 2014. The Governors of Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware, Virginia, North

Carolina, California, Oregon, Washington and the Republican Governors of Maryland and South

Carolina are opposing President Trump's plan to open up approximately one billion acres of

territory to offshore drilling and oil exploration. The threat to the economies of our coastal states

and to the safety of those who work in the fisheries industry are too grave to allow these plans to

proceed. It is time for everyone, including all Rhode Islanders, to lend their voices in opposition

to the President's offshore drilling policies and in support of our country's vital natural resources

and for those whose livelihoods depend upon the vigorous protection of our coastal waters; now,

therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

Providence Plantations hereby expresses opposition to President Trump's decision to allow

offshore drilling in most of America's coastal waters; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to President Donald J. Trump, Governor Gina M.

Raimondo and the Rhode Island Congressional delegation.

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