Sen. Bill Nelson, the three-term Democrat who has seen numerous hurricanes come through Florida during his 17 years in the Senate, is calling on the federal government to make it easier for residents to evacuate. He is proposing a “Florida Gasoline Supply Reserve” that would store at least 1 million barrels of gasoline for distribution when disaster-related evacuations are required.
Stories of Florida residents remaining in place as Hurricane Irma approached due to limited fuel access, prompted the call for the reserve. He filed a bill last week that would require the U.S. Department of Energy to create the reserve.
“When a major storm is heading toward our state, we have to make sure people have access to the gas they need to get out of harm’s way, Nelson said. “A Florida gas reserve would not only help prevent some of the gas shortages we saw ahead of Hurricane Irma but would also help ensure that our first responders have the fuel they need to help people during and after the storm.”
Nelson will likely gain bipartisan support for his bill, especially within the delegation. Republican Richard Corcoran, Speaker of the Florida House, had recently made a similar suggestion.
