Washington - A threat to the environment and economy of the Jersey Shore was beaten back in the U.S. Senate today. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), joined by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), worked to counter and defeat a measure that would have allowed for drilling less than 100 miles off of New Jersey's coast - close enough for spills to affect New Jersey beaches.

An amendment to the pending energy bill sponsored by Sen. John Warner (R-VA) would have ended the Congressional moratorium on drilling off the coast of Virginia, which includes sites in close proximity to the Jersey Shore. Sen. Menendez rose on the Senate floor, first to offer an amendment to counter Warner's, and then to force the Warner amendment to reach a higher 60-vote threshold for passage. Sen. Lautenberg joined Menendez in vehement opposition to the Warner amendment, which was defeated 43-44.

"Our state's environment and economy should not be subject to other states' reckless plans," said Menendez. "The scheme we defeated would not only pose short-term threats, but it could have led us down a slippery slope that ends in drilling up and down the east coast. This was an important victory for our state in the Senate today."

"Imagine the devastation that an oil or natural gas spill off the coast of Virginia would cause, not just to our state, but to states up and down the east coast. A spill could poison the Atlantic Ocean and damage our economy. We couldn't allow our coastline and our marine life to be endangered and are proud of our fight to defeat this amendment," said Lautenberg.

According to the New Jersey Commerce and Economic Growth Commission, Garden State tourism - much of which is centered around the Jersey Shore - generates more than $26 billion in economic activity and supports more than 430,000 jobs (ten percent of the state's workforce). In January, the Senators introduced The Clean Ocean and Safe Tourism Anti-Drilling Act, or COAST Anti-Drilling Act, which would protect New Jersey's beaches, and the tourism industry it supports, by permanently banning oil and gas drilling off the Mid-Atlantic and Northern Atlantic coast.

In a letter to Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne last year, Menendez, Lautenberg, and Congressmen Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ), Jim Saxton (R-NJ), and Chris Smith (R-NJ) stressed their opposition to the Minerals Management Service's plan to conduct lease sales in the Mid-Atlantic planning region off the coast of Virginia, and urged public hearings in New Jersey on the matter. To view that letter, visit http://menendez.senate.gov/pdf/LettertoKempthorne9-7-06.pdf .

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