HR+1679+Podcast+Text

 **__HR 1679__**
Pro (Jasmine): ****The Caribbean Coral Reef Protection Act has been issued to protect the coral reefs from exploration, development, and production activities for petroleum resources. Not only is this issue important for the coral reefs, but it is also important for the marine species whose homes are either in or around the reefs. As for Cuba's involvement, this bill will undertake the necessary measures to deny the Government of Cuba, the financial resources to produce activities that threatens Florida's marine environment, including the third largest coral reef tract in the world. I agree with the bill because though it limits exploration along the reef, I believe that some parts of the sea should be left unknown/not researched. As for limiting development, it not only saves the reef form destruction, but the marine life from harms way. Lastly, it will not allow production activities for petroleum such as drilling for oil, or things like sonar activities and more. The oil leaks are harmful to the reefs, but are lethal to the species. If we harm the reefs, it will harm the species, which will disturb the whole food chain/eco-system, which then puts us as humans out of balance. Also we need to keep Cuba away from our reefs, to preserve what we have left, especially the reefs of Florida. ** ** Con (Anna): **  The CCRPA claims in its summary that it is "t  o protect the environmental integrity of coral reefs and other coastal marine resources from exploration, development, and production activities for petroleum resources located in a maritime exclusive economic zone of the United States that is contiguous to a foreign exclusive economic zone." It claims it will help the coral reefs of the Caribbean. Maybe when originally proposed, the bill did indeed intend to help the reefs, but right now the main text if the bill is about Cuba. This bill wants to keep fleeing Cubans away from Florida. It wants to keep Cuba from developing their petroleum resources and messing up our already messed coral reefs. Cuba, ironicly, has some of the healthiest coral reefs in the western hemisphere, very unlike ours which are some of the least healthy. The Caribbean Coral Reef Protection Act makes stricter the immigrant laws, amending a law. But what about the reefs? The dying reefs have been bleached, another something that we caused. The rising sea temperatures are killing the reefs, and, the United States could come up with a much better law to protect our coral reefs. We need to come up a bill to save our coral reef from real danger and not from Cuba because their reefs are a lot healthier than our dying ones.  You say that 99% of the bill is focused on just Cuba, but that is not the case. Only a portion of the bill is focused on keeping Cuba away, the exploration, development, and production activities for petroleum is what the bill is focusing on mostly, and how those activities can be harmful as well as lethal to the reefs and marine life surrounding them. We need to be aware of what our actions are causing to happen. Yes, it does also address that Cuba is causing to happen, and how we should keep them away, to protect al the parts of the reefs that we have left, but also to worry about the impact Cuba has, as well as the impact we have. 
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 * Pro Rebuttal:**
 * Con Rebuttal:**

<span style="color: rgb(0, 119, 255);">**Pro Closing: So in conclusion, this bill is addressing us to protect the coral reefs and other marine resources from any further damage. The Caribbean Coral Reef is split in half by the United States and Cuba. But if you go to the reef, Cuba's half is more "alive" than ours is. So now we have to support this bill to regain the life that has been lost, thanks to exploration, development, and production activities for petroleum resources, that are located in a exclusive economic zone of the United States that is contiguous to a foreign exclusive zone.

Con Closing:**