[StBernard] Fighting for a brighter future

[Westley Annis]

Dear Friends,

Oil has stopped flowing from BP's well. The President's oil spill commission
is taking a second look at the moratorium. Congress has passed a sweeping
and historic bi-partisan bill regulating Wall Street and protecting
consumers. These past few months have been trying, but it seems we are
turning a corner. We know from history that Louisianians have the grit and
resolve to carry on in the face of the worst adversity. I am confident that
our recovery from this disaster will be no different.


Permanently Plugging the Oil Well


Yesterday, BP successfully stopped the flow of oil from its well at the
bottom of the Gulf. In a statement
<http://landrieu.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=21
00060818.5218.12&gen=1&mailing_linkid=13513> , Sen. Landrieu said, "The
reports that BP's new cap has stopped the flow of oil into the Gulf is the
first piece of good news the Gulf Coast has received in three months. I am
cautiously optimistic that this is the beginning of the end of this terrible
nightmare." Sen. Landrieu, like the rest of the Gulf, will be closely and
anxiously watching the final stages of the well's closure, which appear to
be ahead of schedule
<http://landrieu.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=21
00060818.5218.12&gen=1&mailing_linkid=13514> .


Turning the Tide on the Job-Killing Moratorium


Even though the well has been brought under control, Louisiana still faces
the prospect of a prolonged and devastating moratorium on deepwater
drilling. On Tuesday, the Presidential Oil Spill Commission held its first
public hearing in New Orleans, and heard testimony from experts, government
officials and the public. Sen. Landrieu made a forceful case
<http://landrieu.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=21
00060818.5218.12&gen=1&mailing_linkid=13515>  against the moratorium, and
for immediate revenue sharing to restore Louisiana's wetlands.

According to the Wall Street Journal
<http://landrieu.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=21
00060818.5218.12&gen=1&mailing_linkid=13516> , members of the commission
were "'quite moved' by the testimony of Sen. Mary Landrieu," and were
"surprised that representatives of Louisiana's fishing industry, which has
been rocked by the spill, had called for lifting the moratorium." These
comments from the commission members represent a "sharp shift," which never
would have come about had the commission not listened to the people directly
affected by the moratorium.

Oil Spill Commission Hearing
<http://landrieu.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=21
00060818.5218.12&gen=1&mailing_linkid=13515> 

In June, Sen. Landrieu sent the White House a series of proposals
<http://landrieu.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=21
00060818.5218.12&gen=1&mailing_linkid=13517>  that would allow the safe
continuation of drilling, while giving authorities the time necessary to
investigate what went wrong on the Deepwater Horizon.


Educating The Next Generation of Scientists & Doctors


 Pathways to
Success<http://landrieu.enews.senate.gov//images/user_images/10_07_14_SBSI.j
pg> 

This week, Sen. Landrieu met with students participating in the Pathways to
Success Summer Biomedical Science Institute
<http://landrieu.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=21
00060818.5218.12&gen=1&mailing_linkid=13512> . The six-week summer institute
is a two-year program that provides rising high school juniors and seniors
from rural communities in Louisiana, South Dakota and Colorado the
opportunity to take science classes and earn college credit from Georgetown
University. Transportation, housing, and meals are all paid for by the
program, which received funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act through the Health Resources and Services Administration's Health
Careers Opportunity Program.