Release from "The Louisiana for Clinton Campaign"

OBAMA OPPOSED BILLIONS IN OIL REVENUE-SHARING FOR LOUISIANA
SENATOR OBAMA OPPOSED BILLIONS IN OIL REVENUE-SHARING FOR LOUISIANA

Feb. 7, 2008

The Louisiana for Clinton Campaign issued the following statement today:

The people of Louisiana have understood for many years that the oil and gas  exploration in the Gulf of Mexico has been both a boon and bane to this  State. On one hand, the oil industry has provided Louisiana with economic  security and opportunity and, on the other, it was a contributing cause to  the coastal erosion that exacerbated the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina  and Rita.  At the same time, the people of Louisiana believed that they did  not  receive a fair share of the revenues that flowed from drilling in the  Gulf  in view of  Louisiana's enormous contribution to domestic oil and  natural gas energy supplies.

Following the hurricanes of 2005, the status quo in Louisiana was no longer  tenable and the need for a fairer revenue sharing agreement that would provide significant funding for coastal restoration/hurricane protection  reached a new height. The Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act represented the  practical solution that Louisiana needed.  It struck a balance between  opening new areas to drilling and protecting the environment.  And most  importantly for Louisiana, the bill gave Louisiana a bigger share of the  oil and gas revenues in the Gulf of Mexico, providing billions of dollars  for coastal restoration, levee building and other critical recovery  projects.  That is why this important bill was fully supported by the people  of Louisiana and their elected representatives.  And though other energy  issues loomed at the time, the urgency of acting to provide a secure source  of funding for Gulf Coast recovery efforts outweighed any shortcomings of  the legislation.

That is why Senator Clinton voted for it.

Senator Obama did not.

With all due respect, Senator Obama's opposition to  the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act was politically expedient. Senator  Obama said the following in his opposition:

Unfortunately, this bill sends the wrong message. Instead of making tough  political decisions about how to reduce our insatiable demand for oil, this  bill continues to lull the American people into thinking that we can drill  our way out of our energy problems. We can't, and for that reason, I plan to  vote against this bill.         152 Cong. Rec. S8492-02, 8503.

This act was not about sending the wrong message or lulling Louisiana into a false sense of security. Louisiana knows the score, and it has known for a  very long time. The act was about helping Louisiana restore its coastline  and protect itself from future hurricanes while supporting an economic  lifeline for the state. By voting against this vital bill, Senator Obama  chose to score political points about “energy independence” instead of  moving forward with legislation to provide a steady source of funding for  recovery efforts in a post-Katrina/Rita Louisiana.  Despite Senator Obama's  assertion, our nation's dependence on foreign energy was not something to be solved by rejecting needed aid to the state of Louisiana.

Senator Clinton acknowledged that this was a “tough political decision” in light of the many energy challenges that the United States faced, and stated  the following in support of the act: “I believe that as part of a balanced  energy policy, we need to expand domestic oil and gas production where it  has local support and can do so in an environmentally sound way. I think the  bill before the Senate meets that test . . . .” 152 Cong. Rec. S8492-02,  8505.

Senator Clinton further noted that “[e]xpanding domestic supplies is only a  partial solution to our energy problems,” as the country must “take steps to  increase energy efficiency and to expand production of renewable energy.”

152 Cong. Rec. S8492-02, 8505. In this regard, Senator Clinton filed  amendments to the bill, but did not insist on holding the bill hostage to  those amendments and vote to filibuster the bill, as Senator Obama did.

Since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the state has become of symbol of the  ills of bureaucratic myopia. Politicians have flocked to New Orleans seeking  headlines that show that they care and that they will not leave Louisiana behind.

Louisiana, look at the record.

Often what happens on C-SPAN is more telling  than what happens on CNN. Issues do matter. When Senator Obama had the  chance to stand with you, he chose not to.