[GPSCC-chat] FW: U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein responding to your message

[Caroline Yacoub]

Monica is the woman across the street from me with One Tree Farm.
Caroline

--- On Fri, 6/18/10, Travel Diva <travlnlight at hotmail.com> wrote:


From: Travel Diva <travlnlight at hotmail.com>
Subject: FW: U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein responding to your message
To: "'Caroline Yacoub'" <carolineyacoub at att.net>
Date: Friday, June 18, 2010, 9:33 AM



  
-----Original Message----- 
From: senator at feinstein.senate.gov [mailto:senator at feinstein.senate.gov] 
Sent: Friday, June 18, 2010 6:39 AM 
To: travlnlight at hotmail.com 
Subject: U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein responding to your message 
  
Dear Ms. Schwenke: 
  
Thank you for writing to me to express your opposition to expanding offshore oil and gas production. I appreciate the time you took to write, and I welcome the opportunity to respond.
  
The recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a stark reminder that drilling in critical places off of our coastlines carries with it real, catastrophic risk. I have long opposed oil and gas exploration off the coast of California, and believe that oil drilling in water deeper than 5,000 feet should also be prohibited. 
  
You may be interested to know that on May 13, 2010, I cosponsored legislation (S. 3358) that would permanently prohibit offshore drilling on the outer continental shelf of California, Oregon and Washington State. I support the Administration's steps to halt new offshore drilling until federal regulators implement the reforms necessary to prevent a future catastrophe. On May 27, 2010, President Obama announced a six-month moratorium on drilling new deepwater oil wells and cancelled plans for exploratory drilling and new lease sales. In my view, very clear standards and greater environmental and safety oversight should be in place before drilling resumes and any new rigs are placed offshore. 
  
Concerns have also been raised about reports of misconduct and failed oversight by personnel in the Minerals Management Service (MMS), the division within the Department of the Interior responsible for overseeing the collection of oil and gas drilling royalties, enforcing safety and environmental standards, and processing drilling permits. As Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies, which has jurisdiction over MMS, I find this behavior completely unacceptable and take these allegations seriously. You may be interested to know that on June 23, 2010, the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar's proposed restructuring of MMS and examined the concerns that have been raised about the agency's conflicting missions.
  
I agree that expanding offshore drilling represents an unnecessary risk to our coastal communities, economies, and ecosystems, and that energy independence cannot be achieved by expanding offshore oil and gas production. Please know that I remain committed to working to advance legislation that will decrease our dependence on fossil fuels and invest in low-carbon, renewable energy and energy efficient technologies.
  
Again, thank you for writing. If you have additional comments or questions, please contact my Washington, D.C. staff at (202) 224-3841. Best regards.  



Sincerely yours, 
 Dianne Feinstein 
         United States Senator 

Further information about my position on issues of concern to California and the Nation are available at my website http://feinstein.senate.gov/public/.  You can also receive electronic e-mail updates by subscribing to my e-mail list at http://feinstein.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=ENewsletterSignup.Signup. Feel free to checkout my YouTube page http://www.youtube.com/Senatorfeinstein
  
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