Rumsfeld Finally Heeds Call About Offshore Drilling

Dec. 5, 2005

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld wrote a letter to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner Nov. 30, saying DOD is concerned about legislation that would bring commercial oil drilling in closer to Florida’s Gulf Coast. Rumsfeld maintains such a proposal is “incompatible” with military testing and training activities. Florida’s Senate delegation has been lobbying DOD to weigh in on the proposal, which would allow drilling in areas up to 25 miles off the Gulf Coast, infringing on the military training area utilized by Air Force and Navy aircraft. A vocal opponent of the new drilling rule, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), says he opposes the 25-mile rule and a new proposal for a 150-mile buffer that would still “cut 84 miles” off the military range.

Audio of this article is brought to you by the Air & Space Forces Association, honoring and supporting our Airmen, Guardians, and their families. Find out more at afa.org

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