The Hill News

During this week that we celebrate Earth Day and reflect on the one-year anniversary of the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, it is the perfect time to sharpen our focus on environmental priorities. As some 200 million gallons of oil were sent gushing into the Gulf of Mexico last year, destroying marine life and crippling the local economy, all I kept thinking was: we cannot let this happen to California’s Sonoma Coast.

Oil companies have made no secret, however, of their designs on this coastline in my district. That is why one of my top legislative priorities is the expansion, by more than 2,000 nautical miles, of the local marine sanctuaries that provide permanent federal protection from oil and gas exploration.

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