Scalise Outlines RESTORE Act Priorities with Coastal Leaders

METAIRIE, LA – U.S. Congressman Steve Scalise (LA-01) today met with community leaders who are members of the Coalition for Coastal Resilience & Economy (CCRE) to discuss effective ways Louisiana can best implement coastal restoration projects throughout Louisiana when utilizing the RESTORE Act funds that will flow from the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund.

“Just as we've made it clear to our colleagues in Congress that the BP fines should not be used for unrelated spending in Washington, we will work equally as hard to ensure that RESTORE Act funds will be focused on coastal restoration and will not be siphoned off on unrelated spending in Louisiana,” Scalise said. "The signing of the RESTORE Act into law is without a doubt the single most significant action taken to restore our coast in Louisiana’s history, and we must not let these funds be squandered. I am glad the CCRE coalition is equally committed to ensuring that mistakes of Louisiana history don't repeat themselves, and to ensuring that these vital funds will be used specifically on coastal restoration projects. Our coast makes up the very fabric of our existence in South Louisiana, and the funds that come to Louisiana as a result of the RESTORE Act should be spent developing and defending that most vital asset.

Today's meeting gave local business and community leaders the opportunity to collaborate and discuss the most effective ways we can revive and protect Louisiana's wetlands and coastline using RESTORE Act funds. With many of Louisiana families still struggling in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, it is imperative that this money be used for critical coastal restoration projects and not be raided for unrelated purposes. "

Specifically, the RESTORE Act, which Scalise championed through the U.S. House of Representatives and was then signed into law July 6, 2012, directs 80 percent of the Clean Water Act fines resulting from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster to Gulf Coast states for the purposes of ecosystem and economic recovery. Earlier this year, Scalise joined his Louisiana colleagues Senator David Vitter and Congressman Bill Cassidy to push U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, urging the agency to expedite the rule-making process so that RESTORE funds could more quickly be disbursed. In November of 2013, Scalise submitted comments to the U.S. Treasury on the proposed regulations governing the use of RESTORE funds. On the one-year anniversary of the passage of the RESTORE Act, Scalise authored an op-ed emphasizing the importance of specifically utilizing these funds for the purpose of preserving eroding wetlands and coastline.

Louisiana loses a football field of wetlands to erosion every hour and more than 16 square miles of coastline a year.