[StBernard] Weekly Update from Bobby - August 12, 2006

[Westley Annis]

August 12, 2006	 
Dear friends,

Fighting against tolls on I-10 and I-12

It came to light this week that the Louisiana Department of Transportation
and Development has submitted an initial proposal to the federal government
to impose tolls on certain sections of I-10 and I-12. I immediately voiced
my strong opposition to this idea, and called on the Governor to withdraw
this proposal.

It is inconceivable that the state would consider imposing what is basically
a tax on the residents of Louisiana who are already faced with the task of
rebuilding their lives in the aftermath of the hurricanes of last year while
also dealing with record high gas prices. It is especially ridiculous that
we are being asked to pay tolls on roads we have already paid for through
gasoline taxes.

While enhancing our transportation infrastructure is crucial in meeting
evacuation needs and vital in attracting businesses to our state, these
upgrades should not come at the cost of hurricane devastated communities and
businesses. Just last year, my colleagues and I in Congress worked hard to
secure a record $2.9 billion in federal formula funding for Louisiana over
the next five years for priority transportation projects. We also approved
$1.4 billion for hurricane repairs.

I have written a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation asking the
agency to deny this plan, and I hope the state will immediately withdraw
this proposal.

Highlighting the need for more domestic sources of energy

Following a spill near Alaska this week, BP oil company determined that some
pipeline had corroded and forced the shut down of the production in the
Prudhoe Bay field, leaving our country with eight percent less of daily U.S.
crude production and driving oil and gasoline prices even higher.

While this is an extremely devastating situation that needs to be resolved
immediately, it highlights the need to increase the domestic supply of
energy in the United States.

As many of you know, the House of Representatives already passed my bill
that I introduced to provide Louisiana with its fair share of royalty
revenues while also addressing the need for our country to reduce its
reliance on foreign sources of energy. My bipartisan bill, the Deep Ocean
Energy Resources Act of 2006 (H.R. 4761), overwhelmingly passed the House in
June with a bipartisan vote of 232 to 187. A less comprehensive energy bill
passed the U.S. Senate last week, and negotiations will begin soon on the
final version of the bill.

We have to do more to prevent disruptions like these from impacting our
supply of energy, and my bill will go a long way towards encouraging more
domestic production and alternative sources of energy. Our country cannot
afford to be dependent on just a few sources of energy in our country and in
foreign countries, as the shutdown of BP production proved this week.

My bill would also allow the production of fuels from strategic
unconventional resources such as oil shale, tar sands, and wind. Shale
formations in the Western United States are believed to contain a trillion
barrels of oil, four times the oil holdings of Saudi Arabia.

It is imperative that the United States seek out more domestic and
alternative sources of energy. I will continue advocating to my colleagues
the importance of increasing domestic energy sources as we move into final
negotiations on my bill to ensure that shutdowns in production do not
disrupt our entire energy supply.

Protecting our country

This week, our country was reminded that our fight against terrorism is far
from over as British officials announced that they had thwarted efforts to
use airline flights from Great Britain to attack the United States. I
applaud all of the counter-terrorism officials whose hard work brought this
horrible plan to light and prevented an attack on innocent Americans.

As the only Louisiana member on the House of Representatives Homeland
Security Committee, I understand the importance of continuing to strengthen
our homeland security efforts both here in the U.S. and abroad. Terrorists
have not given up on attacking our country and our freedoms, and we must be
vigilant in our efforts to defend America from attack.

Working with communities throughout the state

Yesterday I had the opportunity to address the Louisiana Municipal
Association which represents all of the small towns and communities
throughout our state. I talked about the importance of rebuilding South
Louisiana, and the importance of not ignoring North Louisiana. We must
invest energy into bringing more economic development to all parishes
throughout the state. It will take a united effort from leaders from every
area in order to make Louisiana a state where our children and grandchildren
can succeed, and I am committed to this effort.

Enjoying the Louisiana outdoors

I also had a great time yesterday at the kickoff event for the Coastal
Conservation Association and their fishing rodeo. I love going down to Port
Fourchon and Grand Isle during the summer, and I hope to get back there
soon.  Many camps are being rebuilt and even improved.

As always, please feel free to contact my offices if we can be of assistance
to you.

Sincerely,
Bobby Jindal