On the recordFebruary 15, 2012
I thank the gentleman from Louisiana. Mr. Chairman, I have an understanding different from my good friend and colleague from Massachusetts. He is absolutely right when he says the resources are everyone's. The resources are everyone's. But the sacrifices that you make to get those resources come from those Gulf States. We lost 1,836 lives in Katrina. We lost 11 lives in the BP oil spill. We've lost 328 square miles of marsh. And in this bill, we give royalties to all the other States immediately. What we're asking from Louisiana is that, without a cap, is that in 2023 when we start to give us the 37.5 percent. However, we're willing to cap it at $750 million as opposed to the unlimited amount that all the other States under this bill would do. And then I think in 2006, Congress recognized that the Gulf Coast States were bearing the brunt of our energy production in this country, the lands that we lose. We produce 90 percent of the Nation's offshore oil and gas. So that's a sacrifice that we make for people in Kansas, people in California to be able to turn on their lights in the afternoon or at nighttime. With that, Mr. Chairman, I would urge Members to vote for the amendment. The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Louisiana has 1 minute remaining.
