PRESS RELEASE
Date: February 24, 2020
From: South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce
Subject: Klobuchar will ban new offshore drilling on Day One
Contact: Frank Knapp, President/CEO, 803-252-5733 (o), 803-600-6874 (c), fkanpp@scsbc.org
Klobuchar will ban new offshore drilling on Day One
Five candidates on Saturday’s ballot would use executive order on first day
Columbia, SC—Senator Amy Klobuchar has joined four of the front-running Democratic presidential candidates in committing to a Day One Action Plan on offshore oil drilling.
In a statement released by the Klobuchar campaign yesterday, the candidate will use an executive order on her first day as President to ban all new oil drilling leases on public land and waters (see below). This Day One Action Plan now is the policy of five of the seven Democratic presidential candidates on this Saturday’s primary ballot. The five candidates are (in alphabetical order)—Biden, Buttigieg, Klobuchar, Sanders and Warren.
In April of last year the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce (SCSBCC), the leading business organization on the East Coast opposing offshore drilling in the Atlantic, launched a campaign to make this Day One Action Plan a litmus test for the Democratic presidential candidates. The commitment would protect the Atlantic from drilling as long as the executive order is in place.
“We commend Senator Klobuchar and all the candidates for making it clear to the voters and Big Oil that there will be no oil drilling in the Atlantic if they are elected,” said Frank Knapp Jr., president/CEO of the SCSBCC. “This is a critically important issue for voters up and down the East Coast and now they are assured that supporting any of these 5 candidates will bring an end to the threat of exploring and drilling for oil in the Atlantic.”
“By adopting this Day One action plan on new oil drilling leases, these candidates are demonstrating that they are serious about protecting our small business tourism, commercial fishing and recreation local economies from the inevitable oil spills and leaks from offshore drilling,” said Knapp, who also co-founded and is past president/CEO of the Business Alliance for Protecting the Atlantic Coast.
Statement from Klobuchar campaign to SCSBCC:
As part of the Senator Klobuchar’s previously released plan for the first 100 days of her Presidency, she has committed to taking the following action on Day One of Presidency:
Ban new fossil fuel permitting on federal lands and waters and review and restore environmental protections repealed by the Trump Administration. To help accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels, Senator Klobuchar will ban new fossil fuel permits on federal lands and waters. Senator Klobuchar will also undertake a comprehensive review and restore environmental protections repealed by the Trump Administration. The Trump Administration has revoked dozens of guidance documents and rules that protect people’s safety, health and the environment when it comes to our power plants, oil refineries, national parks and wildlife refuges, offshore drilling, pipelines, and oil and gas development. Senator Klobuchar will undertake a thorough review of all the repealed guidance and rules, and work to restore our environmental and safety protections.
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The South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce is a statewide advocacy organization founded in 2000. With over 10,000 small business and entrepreneur supporters, it has successfully worked to make South Carolina more small business friendly in areas such as healthcare, taxation, regulation, worker training, energy/conservation, workers’ compensation and economic development.