Louisiana Gov. Kathleen B. Blanco rapped Congress for leaving town without first passing Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) legislation that would give Gulf coastal states, including Louisiana, a bigger share of the royalties from leasing off their shores.

“Congress is leaving town to campaign for reelection without addressing the issues of greatest concern to the Gulf Coast. It’s past time for a reality check. It’s high time for Congress to get serious about saving a part of America’s coast that is critical to the nation’s economic and energy future,” the vocal governor said Friday as lawmakers were preparing to leave to campaign for the November elections.

“Congress says they understand the urgency, and yet they continue to stall on a bill that will share revenues. Louisiana must have a steady stream of offshore revenues in order to get the massive coastal restoration and hurricane protection job done. Our delegation has been fighting hard on this issue. Now is the time for them to pull together to hold the feet of Congress to the fire.”

The narrowly crafted Senate bill (S. 3711) would make 8.3 million acres in the Lease 181 area in the eastern Gulf and in a tract south of Lease 181 available for oil and gas leasing; would provide protections (a minimum of a 125-mile, no-drill buffer zone) for Florida; and would give four Gulf coastal states a major share (37.5%) of the federal royalties from leasing in the areas opened by the bill to be used in restoring their receding coastal areas.

The House measure (HR 4761), which is far more broad, would give all coastal states, including the Pacific and East Coast states, the option to allow drilling within 100 miles of their shorelines and would remove the moratorium on drilling beyond the 100-mile mark. It would offer coastal states a greater share of the royalties than that proposed in S. 3711.

©Copyright 2006Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news reportmay not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in anyform, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.