Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ) addressed a rally of local citizens, business owners, environmental organizations and elected officials at the Hilton Gardens on Route 130 in Hamilton, NJ on Wednesday from his D.C. office, in between scheduled votes.

    The citizen rally “Valentine’s Day of Ocean Emotion” was formed to draw attention to environmental and business concerns over the Administration’s proposal to open over 90 percent of U.S. coastal waters—including off the New Jersey coast—to oil and gas exploration and drilling, as the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will not be conducting public hearings on the proposal. Smith is unequivocally opposed.

    “Thank you especially for organizing this important meeting. This will enable all of you and us to first document and amplify our concerns about this very ill-conceived proposal,” Rep. Smith told the crowd. “I think uniting as we are—and the delegation is united—we want to protect the fish, the habitat, the environment, to make sure that we do not have our pristine beaches awash in oil or other substances.”

    The delegation, Smith said, will “make it very clear: not here, not now, not ever.”

    [Click here to watch excerpts of Smith’s address to the rally]           

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