Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy says the $4.15 trillion federal budget proposed by President Barack Obama on Tuesday seeks to repeal a law that is set to channel hundreds of millions of dollars to Louisiana starting next year.
As The Courier reports, at issue is the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, which Congress passed in 2006. It allows four Gulf states—Louisiana, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas—to receive 37.5% of federal oil revenue from drilling off their coasts, beginning in 2017.
The law will send an estimated $176 million to Louisiana next year. By law, the money must be spent on coastal restoration or hurricane protection, with a small portion dedicated to coastal infrastructure such as roads and bridges.
Obama’s budget proposes keeping that money for the federal government.
“It’s no surprise the president wants to deprive Louisiana of funding that was promised to our state through GOMESA for coastal restoration projects, funding that is critical to protecting families from future storms like Hurricane Katrina,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Baton Rouge Republican, says in a news release.
Cassidy says he will work with the Senate Appropriations and Natural Resources committees to ensure the law remains intact.
“I will do everything in my power to use my seat on these committees to not only block the president’s raid on oil and gas revenues but fight to increase Louisiana’s share of offshore revenue,” he says. “Funding for coastal restoration must remain a promise to Louisiana and other Gulf Coast states. Protecting Louisiana jobs and our energy economy is and will continue to be my priority.”
Combined, the Gulf Coast states are expected to receive $375 million next year through GOMESA, according to Cassidy’s office. The Gulf Coast is expected to receive $3.7 billion in revenue derived from offshore energy production over the next 10 years and more than $13 billion over the next 35 years.
GOMESA supporters claim the coastal states have for decades received a far lower percentage of revenue than interior states do from federal drilling within their borders. They contend the money will help offset damage to the environment and infrastructure caused by oil drilling.
Critics have targeted the law as a giveaway, claiming oil money from the Gulf’s federal waters belongs to U.S. taxpayers. Obama and lawmakers have tried several times to repeal the law. A similar provision was included the administration’s proposed budget for the current fiscal year but was rejected by Congress.
Cassidy and Louisiana’s other U.S. senator, Republican David Vitter, are both pushing a measure that aims to increase the amount of money Louisiana and other coastal states could receive through GOMESA.
Obama’s fiscal year 2017 budget proposal was immediately met with criticism from the Republican-controlled Congress for its cost and reliance on tax hikes to fund domestic priorities, Reuters reports.
Paul Ryan, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, called it a “manual for growing the federal government at the expense of hardworking Americans.” The budget envisions a deficit of $503 billion in fiscal 2017 after a $616 billion budget gap in the current fiscal year ending on Sept. 30.
