Waltz, Rubio Introduce Gulf Test Range Bill

Florida Rep. Mike Waltz (R) and Florida Senator Marco Rubio (R) have joined forces to introduce environmental legislation. Along with members of the Florida Congressional Delegation, Waltz and Rubio introduced the Preserving Gulf Test Range to Ensure Military Readiness Act.

According to a press release from Waltz, the legislation is designed to “prevent energy exploration and development that would jeopardize the Gulf Test Range.” In 2006, Congress voted in favor of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA). The bill “prohibited oil and gas exploration development, among other places, east of the Military Mission Line.”

In a statement, Waltz called the Gulf Test Range “an irreplaceable national asset for our country’s defense infrastructure.” Speaking of its use, Waltz added that “the Department of Defense uses this area to test and develop our military’s weapons, such as hypersonic missiles, and advance our military’s capabilities in the air and on water.”

Warning that as China invests “billions of dollars to modernize and build up their military capabilities, leasing water just off the coast of Florida for energy development would greatly hinder our country’s readiness and ability to deter military aggression.”

Senator Rubio echoed in his remarks, adding that “any form of energy exploration or development in this critical area would jeopardize our national security and undermine our military readiness.”

Waltz also praised President Donald Trump (R), highlighting that Trump had “extended the protections to the Gulf Test Range by using his authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.” However, because of “the Democrats’ $749 billion reckless climate and tax bill,” it included a provision that would “strip protections and open the door to the construction of offshore wind turbines in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico.”

Contrasting President Trump, Waltz expressed that “the Biden Administration and Congressional Democrats are stripping the protections President Trump put in place, opening the door for offshore wind development just off the coast of Florida.”

If this continues, Waltz warns that it will “not only… jeopardize our national security, but it will forever alter Florida’s water.”