WASHINGTON - Sens. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska slammed the Obama administration Tuesday for opposing their bipartisan legislation that would steer more royalties from energy production on federal lands to coastal states.
“I find it tragic the administration’s position on this issue and seemingly heartless given the great challenges” facing Gulf Coast communities, Landrieu, a Democrat, told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Landrieu and others questioned an official from the Department of Interior and other witnesses, including an official from Houma, at a committee hearing on the FAIR Act (Fixing America’s Inequities with Revenue) of 2013.
Landrieu says Louisiana and other coastal states deserve a greater share of funds from royalties and fees collected from energy production on federal lands off their shores. Opponents of the bill, including watchdog groups and the Sierra Club, argue the money should go to the U.S. Treasury to help pay down debt and other bills.
“The administration cannot support the bill,’’ Pamela Haze, deputy assistant secretary for Budget, Finance, Performance and Acquisition for the Department of the Interior, told the panel. “We believe the Congress has addressed this issue.’’
The measure proposed by Landrieu and Murkowski, a Republican, would send up to 37.5 percent of revenue from offshore energy production back to coastal states where it is produced. Lawmakers want to speed up distribution of the revenue from 2017 to 2014 as set up under the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006.
Lawmakers from coastal states complain that while inland states may keep 50 percent of energy revenue produced on federal lands, revenue from offshore energy production is sent to the Treasury.
The measure would also gradually eliminate a $500 million cap of the revenue share by 2024. It would also expand energy production to include onshore and offshore renewable energy.
Haze said eliminating the cap could hurt. “This loss of revenue to the Treasury is a major concern for the administration as agencies are already forced to do more with less under sequestration,’’ she said.
Landrieu has proposed similar legislation in the past, but it has never made it out of committee.
On Tuesday, Landrieu questioned Haze about the “double standard’’ for interior and coastal states.
“The people of my state cannot even begin to understand the position of this administration,’’ said Landrieu, adding that interior states don’t experience the same land loss or the loss of lives such as in Hurricane Katrina.
She also noted that coastal states produced $211 billion in offshore energy.
“And we can’t seem to negotiate a fair share of that?’’ she said.
Reggie Dupre, executive director of the Terrebonne Levee and Conservation District in Houma, said the revenue could help speed up the Morganza Project. The levee project to help protect residents in Terrebonne and Lafourche parishes has been delayed for years.
Dupre said the community has relied on state and local funds to spend $225 million on the first phase of the project.
“This local effort, while substantial, will not be enough to accomplish this task,’’ said Dupre, a former state senator and chair of the Louisiana Natural Resources Committee. “Offshore revenues . . . are the only source constant and large enough to continue work on the Morganza project, and others like it.’’
Ryan Alexander, president of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a government watchdog group, called the FAIR Act “dangerously shortsighted.’’ She said royalties and fees collected from federal lands are a significant source of revenue for the government.
“The last thing Congress should be doing is giving away federal resources,’’ Alexander told lawmakers.
“There is little that is fair for federal taxpayers in the current bill. Siphoning billions of dollars in valuable federal royalties away from the federal Treasury is fiscally irresponsible and will simply compound our budget problems,’’ she said in submitted testimony.
Haze said the measure would have a significant impact on funding for conservation programs and the new energy trust fund. It also adds to the federal deficit, officials said.
“There is not an offset identified,’’ Haze said.
“We’re going to work to find that offset,’’ said Murkowski, adding that there is still a double standard for interior states and those on the coast. “There is an inconsistency here.’’
Murkowski also said she was disappointed by the administration’s opposition and called it disingenuous.
“It has completely missed the point of our bill and efforts to move it forward,’’ said Murkowski. “The FAIR Act is about bringing parity.’’
Supporters say the funds are critical for community infrastructure, restoration and other local projects.
Landrieu has said supporters hope to build on recent successes, including passage of the RESTORE Act. Under that law, 80 percent of fine money collected from BP for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill will go to Gulf Coast states for restoration.
“I will not rest until this injustice is fixed,’’ Landrieu told the panel.
Original Publication URL: http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20130724/NEWS01/307240015/Lack-revenue-bill-support-criticized
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