Senator Requests RESTORE Act Meeting with Commerce Secretary (USA)

U.S. Senator David Vitter (R-La.), top Republican on the Environment and Public Works Committee, sent a letter to Secretary Penny Pritzker of the U.S. Department of Commerce, requesting a meeting to discuss the Louisiana Congressional delegation’s concerns regarding the allocation of funds from the Resources and Ecosystem Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2012 (RESTORE Act).

“With over 671 miles of oiled shoreline, Louisiana suffered the greatest impacts from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and our economy was significantly impaired, as our seafood, recreational, and commercial industries were devastated,” said Vitter. “Naturally, we are particularly interested in making sure that the Obama Administration moves forward in implementing fund recovery procedures under the RESTORE Act in a fair and transparent manner.”

Vitter was an original co-sponsor of the RESTORE Act, which dedicates at least 80 percent of the Clean Water Act (CWA) penalties paid by BP and other responsible parties to the Gulf states to restore coastal ecosystems and economies damaged by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.

Last month, Vitter along with U.S. Reps. Steve Scalise and Bill Cassidy pressed the U.S. Department of Treasury to speed up the process developing and finalizing the regulations that will govern how the funds are disbursed to the states.

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Press Release, May 20, 2014