WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, again urged his colleagues to allow an amendment to the Great American Outdoors Act so that coastal states can invest in coastal resiliency and flood protection.
“My problem with the Great American Outdoors Act is that it spends billions on places where we vacation, but the authors of this bill will not allow us to spend millions to protect places where people live,” Dr. Cassidy said.
Cassidy is proposing an amendment, the COASTAL Amendment, that would remove the cap on funds received through offshore revenue sharing and make certain leases eligible for revenue sharing through the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA). The COASTAL Amendment has bipartisan support and mirrors Cassidy’s COASTAL Act, which passed the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee with bipartisan support. This would increase the amount of money states like Louisiana receive implement coastal resiliency measures, flood protection and erosion.
“We’re going to spend billions, but we’re going to spend billions in the wrong way, repairing damage on the coast that could have been prevented if we’d spent millions now,” Dr. Cassidy said. “If we don’t enhance resiliency, we’re going to spend billions when the hurricane hits.”
To view Cassidy’s speech on YouTube, click here.
To download Cassidy’s speech, click here.
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