The GOPs Fiscal Policies Turned a Natural Disaster into a Man-Made Catastrophe

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By Jason Leopold (about the author) Page 2 of 2 page(s)

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The White House's Office of Management and Budget released a policy statement paper in June that said the Bush administration opposes �the significant new funding authorizations and diversion� of Outer Continental Shelf revenue included in a national energy bill being discussed in Congress.

"Currently the federal government does share royalties with coastal states -- more than $3 trillion to date, in fact. Changing this amount only increases the budget deficit and diminishes the benefit the rest of the nation receives from these national resources," Scott Milburn, press secretary for the White House's Office of Management and Budget, told The Associated Press in June.

�Disheartening,� �frustrating,� �upsetting� and �just another nail in my coffin� is how Louisiana senators, community leaders and coastal advocates responded to the news in June that the White House intervened and advised the Senate to defeat the revenue provision, according to June 16 report in the Houma, La., Courier.

Ironically the erosion to the state's coastline�which became considerably worse over the past five years�is due, in part, to oil and gas drilling in the Gulf, much of which takes place right in New Orleans. Although the state is responsible for repairing its coastline to support its oil and gas infrastructure it barely benefits financially from the drilling that takes place right in its own backyard.

�While inland states enjoy 50 percent of the tax revenue from drilling on their federal lands, Louisiana gets back a mere $35 million of the $5 billion it contributes to the federal treasury each year from offshore drilling, or less than one percent,� the Courier said.

In a written statement, U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., condemned the White House position. Landrieu said the Bush administration simply can't comprehend why the state of Louisiana needs compensation for producing a bulk of the nation's energy supply. It's a fact that coastal oil-and-gas-producing states account for 25 percent of the nation's natural gas and 30 percent of oil.

�The president's statement indicates a failure to appreciate the burdens borne by the people of Louisiana and other coastal oil-and-gas-producing states,� Landrieu said.

It wasn't long after the White House issued its statement on the revenue sharing concept that Louisiana lawmakers predicted an apocalyptic end to the city of New Orleans.

Clifford Smith, a Houma, La., civil engineer and coastal advocate who is also a member of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Mississippi River Commission, told The Courier in June that without federal assistance New Orleans could very well drown if it took a direct hit from a hurricane.

"We're not going to get the kind of recognition and concern we deserve until we have a disaster," he said.

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Jason Leopold is editor of the online investigative news magazine The Public Record, http://www.pubrecord.org, and the author of the National Bestseller, "News Junkie," a memoir. Visit www.newsjunkiebook.com for a preview. He is also a two-time (more...)

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