WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives passed a bill to permanently ban offshore drilling off of Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday, with 26 of the state's 27 members voting in support of the measure.

  • House passes bill to permanently ban offshore drilling off Gulf Coast
  • Protecting & Securing Florida’s Coastline Act passed with 248 to 180 vote
  • White House has signaled it's uncomfortable with a permanent ban
  • LATEST NEWS: Washington DC Bureau stories | Bill Tracker

The legislation, Protecting and Securing Florida’s Coastline Act passed with a vote of 248 to 180. Rep. Francis Rooney (R-Florida) sponsored the legislation, and 12 other Florida lawmakers also signed on.

“I’ve been on this since the first day I got here. It was a big reason for running for this office in the first place. I think this was a great day for Florida. That so many in the House leadership is willing to do the right thing for Florida and protect us,” Rooney said in an interview with Spectrum News.

The move could hamper the President’s push to expand offshore oil and gas development. Florida and a handful of other states have banned offshore drilling. However, states can only control up to three miles out from the coast. The rest is in the hands of the federal government.

“I’m leading a new committee on the climate crisis and this is the last thing you want to do is double down on the dirty fossil fuel business. We need to be talking about clean energy. Solar, wind, energy efficiency, that’s the future and that’s the future in jobs as well. For so many reasons, this is the right vote today,” said Rep. Kathy Castor (D) Florida 14th District.

The bill now heads to the U.S. Senate. A moratorium prohibiting offshore drilling from most of the state’s coastline is set to expire in 2022. However, some on the Senate side don’t support making that moratorium permanent.

Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott have proposed a five-year moratorium. Now, members of the House will have to get their colleagues in the upper chamber on board to get the measure to the President’s desk.

The Trump Administration so far has signaled that it is uncomfortable with a permanent ban on offshore drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.