WASHINGTON - Two Louisiana congressmen Wednesday urged the Senate Appropriations Committee to reconsider a spending bill that allocates $7.4 million in Restore Act funding to help the Treasury Department oversee distribution of the law's funds to the five Gulf states. The Treasury Department had asked for the money so it can award and administer grants under the Restore Act,...
WASHINGTON - Two Louisiana congressmen Wednesday urged the Senate Appropriations Committee to reconsider a spending bill that allocates $7.4 million in Restore Act funding to help the Treasury Department oversee distribution of the law's funds to the five Gulf states.
The Treasury Department had asked for the money so it can award and administer grants under the Restore Act, which allocates 80 percent of Clean Water Act fines from the 2010 BP oil spill for projects in Louisiana and the four other Gulf states.
"It is irresponsible to cut these funds, especially when Congress is statutorily required to use them for coastal restoration by the Restore Act," said Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, who signed a letter with Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Jefferson to the members of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The issue is complicated, and steeped in politics because Cassidy is running against Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, in the 2014 Louisiana Senate race.
In a statement, Landrieu said it is critical the federal government make wise decisions on how the Restore Act funding, expected to be in the billions of dollars, is distributed.
"It is imperative that the Restore Act dollars are distributed as efficiently, transparently and quickly as possible to secure our coast," Landrieu said. "We have one shot to get this right. This has always been a bipartisan bill. If my colleagues have any specific suggestions on how to implement the Restore Act more efficiently, I'm open to those ideas."
In all, the Treasury Department asked for $10.2 million to implement the Restore Act, which was passed in 2012.
The GOP-led House Appropriations Committee, like the Democratic-controlled Senate Appropriations panel, agreed to provide $2.8 million in Restore Act funding so the Treasury Department's inspector general can coordinate reviews of projects and programs funded by the Restore Act.
The Senate committee went further, though, agreeing to a Treasury Department request for $7.4 million to receive, evaluate and award grants for Restore Act funds. The House panel included no Restore Act funds for this purpose.
Neither, the Senate nor House committee bills have received votes by the full House or full Senate.
The Treasury Department, in a memo, said it needs to hire contractors that are subject matter experts who are qualified to evaluate highly techical proposals dealing with ecosystem restoration, fisheries, marine and wildlife habitats, coastal wetlands and the best ways to develop a federal approved conservation plan.
Without extra funding, Treasury officials said in a memo, it only can do cursory reviews of funding applications.
Garret Graves, Gov. Bobby Jindal's coastal advisor and chair of the state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, said the federal government shouldn't eat into the Restore Act funds to administer the law.
"The BP oil spill is the worst in our nation's history and little has been done to actually address widespread damages," Graves said. "The federal government has already taken their cut -- they have retained hundreds of millions of dollars in BP funds. This is a disaster in the Gulf, not a profit-making venture for the U.S. Treasury. We strongly urge the Senate to find another bill payer."