Remember back in January, when the White House said the state of Florida was exempt from new offshore drilling? https://twitter.com/SecretaryZinke/status/950876846698180608 According to a press release published on Friday, March 30, “[The U.S. Department of the Interior] will offer 77.3 million acres offshore Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida for oil and gas exploration and development.” That sounds like new offshore drilling... in Florida. The statement continues, “The region-wide lease sale scheduled for August 15, 2018, would include all available unleased areas in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico.” We can't continue to pit our oceans and coasts against this age-old industry threat. And we can't expand this broken system. New oil and gas exploration and development in the Gulf of Mexico could be located anywhere from three to 231 miles offshore U.S. states. This announcement comes on the heels of attempts by U.S. officials to weaken federal offshore oil and gas drilling safety requirements brought on by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Ryan Zinke, Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior has aimed at: -Reversing a federal rule that called for more frequent testing. -Removing any federal requirement that safety and pollution prevention equipment works under extreme conditions. -Scrapping the federal requirement of an investigation into equipment failure. Don't wait to see what's coming next. Demand congressional action now. Our country can’t afford to give away precious natural resources. We can’t go backwards on hard-fought environmental and public health protections that have made the U.S. economy stronger. References: https://www.boem.gov/press03302018/ https://apnews.com/9562d01b637849b9a9e5e4a425dae34d/Trump-administration-says-no-oil-drilling-off-Florida-coast https://buchanan.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/florida-members-protest-lifting-safety-rules-oil-rigs http://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/377389-clean-coast-economy-worth-far-more-than-dirty-and-dangerous