Florida’s senior United States Senator, Democrat Bill Nelson, told supporters in Southwest Florida today that Secretary of the Interior, Gale Norton, has come up with a way to open the Gulf Coast of Florida to oil drilling.

“There is a bill coming before the senate, it is a tax and spending bill that by law cannot be filibustered. The secretary of the interior, gale Norton, is going to attach drilling off the coast of florida, as well as drilling in the artic national wildlife refuge, to this bill so that I cannot stand up and filibuster the bill and therefore under the senate.
24 the bill has to be passed because its part of the budget act.”

Senator Nelson his previous filibuster kept prevented legislation enabling drilling to go forward. Florida’s congressional delegation, along with Governor Bush, is united in opposition to drilling in the gulf off Florida. Nelson was in Southwest Florida speaking at a campaign fundraiser at the Coconut Point Hyatt in Estero. He says he faces a tough re-election challenge next fall. So fall the only declared candidate for the Republican nomination is U.S. Representative Katherine Harris of Sarasota.