Nelson and Mel Martinez co-sponsored a 2006 bill banning oil drilling off Florida 's Gulf Coast . In 2017 he said he wanted the ban to continue to 2027 , but that it was " vigorously opposed by the oil industry . " Along with 16 Florida congress members from both parties , he urged the Trump administration to keep the eastern Gulf of Mexico off limits to oil and gas drilling . " Drilling in this area , " they wrote , " threatens Florida 's multibillion-dollar tourism-driven economy and is incompatible with the military training and weapons testing that occurs there . " In 2011 , Nelson co-sponsored the RESTORE Act , which directed money from BP fines to states affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Bill Nelson