Fair

We've got an unfair situation. Since nineteen twenty, interior states have kept fifty percent of the oli, gas, and coal production revenues they generated on federal lands within their borders and there's no cap in the total amount they keep. Coastal states have not benefited from the same partnership. Since the federal government started collecting revenue from them in the early nineteen fifties they've received virtually nothing back from the two hundred eleven billion dollars taken from their shores. Consider how these two states, one interior, one coastal, were treated in 2011. Of the $2.1 billion dollars fleming sent to the federal treasury it kept nearly $1 billion dollars to invest in its schools roads another infrastructure. But Louisiana which sent $5.7 billion dollars, more than twice, that of wyoming received just $26.7 million dollars. Pretty unfair right? Well thankfully there's a fairer way to act that will bring justice to coastal states and create jobs for America. The FAIR Act builds on the unprecedented success ago GOMESA that Senator Landrieu and Congress passed in 2006. That bill is established revenue-sharing for the oil and gas producing states in the Gulf. The FAIR Act will gradually lift the arbitrary cap placed on the amount gulf coast states can receive. It will also also accelerate the payments to when the FAIR Act becomes law. It expands the federal government's partnership with other coastal states that want to produce energy in the outer continental shelf and it will share the revenues generated with state that produce any form of energy weather it's oil and gas, wind or wave, onshore or offshore. That sounds a bit fair. But why do we need justice for the coast? The Gulf contributes to the U.S. energy security in economic vitality. One-third of domestic seafood is produced in the Gulf. It drains 40% of the north american continent. and not oil and gas produced off it's shores fuels cars, heats homes, keeps the lights on and creates hundreds of thousands of jobs. To keep doing all of these critical things coastal communities deserve a fair partnership with the federal government to make their communities more resilient. The revenues kept in Louisiana under the FAIR Act will allow it to rebuild its a eroding coast, protect its coastal communities from storms, create jobs and preserver unique and treasured culture. That's a bit fairer, a whole lot smarter, and a much better way to create jobs for America.