James T. Callahan: “I would like this opportunity to engage once again and highlight those concerns to our colleagues; although CARA will be…”

“I would like this opportunity to engage once again and highlight those concerns to our colleagues; although CARA will be extremely beneficial to the wildlife and conservation in the State of Alabama as written, there is a provision that is included in this Senate companion legislation, which I strongly support. This provision allows for funding parity between oil- and gas-producing states and those that do not engage in these activities. As currently written, States in the Gulf of Mexico which do not support oil and gas exploration and production stand to disproportionately benefit from formulas for State-side allocations. In some cases, these are States that not only do not support those OCS activities, but actively oppose exploration of these resources in their region. I believe this is inherently unfair to the citizens of the States like Alabama, that do support OCS activities and provide the necessary infrastructure and oversight for these activities.”