Passing a sweeping energy bill that would reverse environmental and other policy changes made by the Biden administration would mean fiscal benefits for American families, proponents say, as well as an unexpected revenue gain for Louisiana.
But the bipartisan bill, introduced to the House as HR 1 by House Majority Leader Steve Scalise R-La, has yet to pass a Democrat-controlled Senate, and if it does, it will likely be defeated by the president, according to various media reports become.
But Scalise — a longtime promoter of the oil and gas industry — told The Courier and Daily Comet that he was optimistic the bill will last beyond the House of Representatives.
“It’s difficult to get a bill through the Senate,” Scalise said. “This bill has generated a lot of interest from both Republicans and Democrats, and I’ve heard from both about the cost of energy and the impact it is having on local families. This bill will lower energy bills, lower inflation and put more money in the pockets of low- and middle-income families. There was more interest from senators who initially thought they were opposed to this bill.”
Of particular interest to Louisiana is a provision that gives coastal states equal royalties on oil and gas revenues. Currently, Louisiana and other coastal oil-producing states receive 37.5 percent of the federal government’s royalties. HR 1 would increase this to 50 percent and remove a cap on the full amount those states can pay.
Non-coastal countries, where oil and gas are produced on land, currently receive 50 percent. The bill would mandate parity.
Demonstrating how these royalties translate into real value for Louisiana, proponents say, is an announcement last week that the state and several select Louisiana municipalities will receive $156,161,552.64 in energy revenue from the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA). be obtained. This number is a portion of the total revenue shared by the Gulf of Mexico states. The passage of HR 1, Scalise said, would add an estimated $70 million to that number for a total of more than $226 million.
The story goes on
US Rep. Garrett Graves
The current distribution of GOMESA money to communities will include $1,610,657.24 for Lafourche Parish and $2,356,030.93 for Terrebonne, said Rep. Garret Graves R-La., a longtime advocate for protecting the battered and fragile Louisiana coast.
Graves announced the GOMESA allocation on Thursday (March 30) and emphasized the importance of the energy flow that would be empowered by HR 1.
“Since day one, the Biden administration has promised to end domestic energy production,” Graves said. “And without the energy revenue, there will be no South Louisiana over time. There will be no homes, schools, camps or small businesses. The defunding of resilience is unacceptable.”
Graves directly commented on the passage of HR 1, noting the impact of high energy bills and other economic problems affecting families, which he, Scalise and other advocates say the bill can alleviate.
“What this law does is unlock America’s energy resources,” Graves said.
In particular, the bill would eliminate environmental assessment requirements under certain existing laws.
Removal of certain restrictions on the import and export of oil and natural gas.
Ban the President from declaring a moratorium on fracking.
Direct the Department of the Interior to conduct sales for leases of oil and gas resources on federal land.
Limit law enforcement agencies’ powers to restrict energy development to federal lands.
Lower oil and gas development license fees on federal land and eliminate methane emissions fees.
Eliminate funds for energy efficiency improvements and greenhouse gas reductions.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries was among the critics when the bill went to the vote, tweeting that the legislation “puts polluters ahead of people.” Other opponents said it would threaten the environment of national parks.
However, Scalise said the bill strikes a proper balance between meeting energy needs and protecting the environment.
A key part of the bill, he said, is to eliminate the regulatory bureaucracy that energy producers encounter, claiming that a producer’s request for information from a federal agency that is needed in 30 days could result in a six-month wait .
As a result, Scalise says, companies have moved exploration and production to other countries. Those nations, Scalise said, have energy production standards that are highly detrimental to the environment, and that bringing energy production back to the US would result in a cleaner, more environmentally sustainable world.
“No one in the world does it cleaner and better than the United States of America,” Scalise said in a statement announcing the passage of HR 1. “It’s time we opened up America for business and said to all these foreign dictators in the world, ‘We’re not going to buy your energy, which is dirty. We’re going to get clean energy here in America.’”
This article originally appeared on the Daily Comet: Congressmen say there will be no South Louisiana without energy money
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