Protecting Investment in Oil Shale the Next Generation of Environmental, Energy, and Resource Security Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. RICHMOND. Mr. Chairman, what this amendment simply does is it allows those Gulf Coast States to invest their oil and gas into their States in terms of coastal restoration.

I would tell you, Mr. Chairman, that Louisiana, since 1950, has contributed over $160 billion to the Federal Treasury; and, in return, Louisiana has received some of the same benefits as other States have received. However, one unique thing that we've received is a tattered coast line.

Louisiana loses almost a football field an hour in terms of our wetland laws. What this amendment would do is allow us to take some of those revenues that we receive and invest that back into restoring our coast.

I will tell you also, Mr. Chairman, that restoring Louisiana's coast is a very monumental task; and the people of Louisiana, the people of all of the gulf coast communities are willing to step up and take not only their own resources but resources they receive from the Federal Government in terms of any revenues or royalties they will receive and put those back into coastal restoration, making sure that we have wetlands.

Because when we talk about the damage that has been done to Louisiana by the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, that event cost us 11 Louisiana citizens. Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and Ike cost the gulf coast community the lives of almost 1,600 of its citizens. When we talk about our wetlands, that's our first line of defense in preventing the damage of a hurricane. So, while we are willing to sacrifice our coast and those things so that we can have a stable energy sector in this country, we also recognize that we should invest back in it to make sure the citizens are safe.

With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

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