WASHINGTON – Offshore drilling would be banned in the Atlantic Ocean under legislation Sen. Robert Menendez and Rep. Frank Pallone say they will introduce in both chambers this week.

The New Jersey Democrats announced the legislation on Monday, the five-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

In January, administration officials proposed opening areas off the Atlantic Coast to oil and gas drilling. The draft proposal, covering the period from 2017 through 2022, includes 14 potential lease sales, including one in areas more than 50 miles off Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

"We cannot stand by and allow our coastline and our marine life to be endangered in order to inflate Big Oil's already inflated profits," Menendez said in a statement.

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