[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 48 (Thursday, March 12, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1718-S1719]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              COASTAL Act

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I would like to talk for a few minutes 
today about my favorite subject, which is Louisiana.
  I could talk the rest of the day and through the entire weekend about 
the good things about Louisiana, but today I want to talk about one of 
our problems. It is not just a problem for Louisiana; it is also a 
problem for the United States of America; it is also a problem for the 
American people; it is also a problem for energy independence for our 
country. Louisiana is drowning. It is drowning because we are washing 
away. Our land is washing into the gulf.
  I live about 250, 300 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico--sort of in 
the toe of the boot, if you think of Louisiana as a boot. If things 
continue as they are going, I may not be alive then, but my home--
whoever lives in it after I am gone--will be gulf front property. 
Remember, my home is 250 to 300 miles from the coast.
  Why is that happening? Why is our land washing away into the gulf? 
There are a number of reasons. I will mention two, in particular. The 
sea levels in the Gulf of Mexico are rising. We can have a rigorous 
debate about the reason for that, and I know many smart people think it 
is for this reason and others disagree and think it is for that reason, 
but we can't deny the fact that sea levels are rising whatever the 
cause. In fact, as the gulf meets the southern part of my State, it is 
rising about 12 to 13 inches every 100 years.
  We have another reason, though, as to why my State is washing away--
our land in southern Louisiana is sinking.
  Why is that?
  The Mississippi Delta, of which Louisiana is a part, is an ecological 
and hydrodynamic masterpiece. What God did in creating our State is 
just breathtaking. It used to be the Mississippi River, which runs 
right through my State, would overflow every year. It would deposit its 
sediment in South Louisiana. The water would recede and go back into 
the river channel, but the sediment would remain. After thousands and 
thousands of years, the land was built up. Then we leveed the 
Mississippi River. I am not saying we did the wrong thing by leveeing 
the Mississippi River, for we have increased the quality of life for a 
lot of Americans and enhanced our economy. When we leveed the river, we 
prevented it from overflowing so that it would no

[[Page S1719]]

longer deposit sediment, but the sediment that was already there before 
we leveed the river was slowly sinking. So we have sea levels in the 
gulf rising 12 to 13 inches every 100 years, and we have the land 
sinking. You don't have to be a senior at Cal Tech to figure out we 
have a problem. That is why our land is washing away.
  Now, why is this important?
  It is obviously important for the people who live on the land that is 
washing away, but it is also important for America's energy 
independence because underneath the land that is slowly being washed 
into the gulf--crisscrossing that land and extending over into Texas 
and into Alabama--are 26,000 miles of pipelines that carry oil and 
natural gas that heat American homes and generate American energy. When 
that land washes away, those pipelines are going to be exposed.
  Do you know what the saltwater is going to do to those pipelines?
  It is going to corrode them. When that land washes away, those 
pipelines now exposed are going to be exposed to ocean currents, and 
they are going to burst. It will not be all at once, but they are going 
to burst, and this country's energy independence is going to be 
undermined.
  Do you know how long and how much money it will take to move those 
pipelines?
  I don't know. I am not sure if there are enough ditches to quantify 
it.
  Let me shift gears and talk about the solution as I think I have 
defined the problem.
  We are helping ourselves, and I will give you an example. The 
Morganza to the Gulf project doesn't mean a lot to some of you, but 
trust me--it is a big deal to the people of Louisiana and to the 
American people who are familiar with it. We have been taxing ourselves 
for 20 years to pay for that project, which is part coastal restoration 
and part hurricane protection. We also received help from the American 
people.
  Thank you. Thank you, American people, for coming to our aid.
  In 2006, the U.S. Congress passed what we call GOMESA. It stands for 
the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act. That is what I mean when I talk 
about GOMESA, and GOMESA is a pretty straightforward bill. It says 
that, for all new oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, the 
Federal Government and the State government are going to share the oil 
royalties.
  The government, as you know, owns the seabeds. We lease them to oil 
companies, and they drill and produce oil and natural gas. In fact, off 
of Louisiana's coast, we have wells that produce about 16, 17 percent 
of the Nation's oil and about 3 percent of the natural gas. Those oil 
companies pay royalties to the Federal Government, and the royalties 
flow through the Federal Government to the State government.
  Under GOMESA, the American people, through their representatives, 
said: OK. On all new wells that are drilled after 2006, Louisiana gets 
37.5 percent of the money that the Federal Government gets--but not 
just Louisiana. We didn't want to be greedy. We asked to have Texas 
included. We asked to have Mississippi included. We also asked to have 
Alabama included so it would get 37.5 percent too. Fair is fair. The 
Federal Government gets the rest.
  Louisianans have put their money where their mouths are. We have 
dedicated every single penny of that GOMESA money to coastal 
restoration in order to try to build up our land faster than we have 
been losing our land to the gulf. It has been a losing battle, but we 
have been holding our own. To give you an idea of how dramatic it has 
been, since 1930--I think 1932--Louisiana has lost land the size of 
Delaware. I believe, if you run the numbers in terms of square miles, 
we have lost land the size of two Rhode Islands. I think we have lost a 
football field a day. Remember, this doesn't just hurt Louisiana. This 
hurts America, and it hurts our energy independence.
  Louisiana has put its money where its mouth is. We said: Thank you, 
American people, for passing GOMESA. We appreciate the 37.5 percent of 
the oil royalties we are going to get out of the Federal Government's 
share, and we are putting every single penny into coastal restoration.
  There is still a basic unfairness because 20 other States get 50 
percent. Now, these States aren't coastal States. I am happy for them. 
Don't misunderstand me. These are inland States that have Federal 
lands. When oil companies drill on those Federal lands and hit oil or 
hit natural gas, those States don't get 37.5 percent of what the 
Federal Government gets; they get 50 percent. That is just not fair. 
Everybody ought to be treated the same. Louisiana and Alabama and 
Mississippi and Texas are not asking for any extra. We call that 
lagniappe in Louisiana. We aren't asking for any extra. We are just 
asking to be treated like everybody else. In Louisiana, we are 
dedicating every single penny--I don't know if I mentioned this or 
not--to solving the coastal restoration problem, which is not just 
Louisiana's problem but is a problem for the United States.
  We have a bill. It is called the COASTAL Act. The full name is the 
Conservation of America's Shoreline Terrain and Aquatic Life Act. We 
call it the COASTAL Act. All the COASTAL Act would do would be to treat 
all the States the same. Everybody would get 50 percent--a 50-50 split. 
Louisiana wouldn't get more or less than any other State. Alabama 
wouldn't get more or less than any other State. Mississippi wouldn't 
get more or less than any other State. Texas would be under the same 
rule. All of the States would get 50 percent.
  It would also make one other change. When GOMESA was passed, it 
capped the amount of money that Louisiana and Mississippi and Alabama 
and Texas could get each year from that 37.5 percent at $500 million a 
year. Out of basic fairness, we are asking that the cap be removed if 
we can pass this bill, the COASTAL Act. The quarterback of the bill is 
the senior Senator from Louisiana, Dr. Bill Cassidy. I am helping him 
all I can as are the Senators from Texas and Mississippi and Alabama 
and other States. All we are asking is for equality.
  I don't want to end on a negative note by just talking about our 
problems. If you haven't visited Louisiana, please come. I have lived 
in five States and a foreign country. I have just never lived in a 
place like Louisiana. It is my home, and I know I am biased. God 
blessed our State, and in having blessed us, I think God blessed us a 
second time.
  I mean, look at our location. We are at the top of the gulf coast; we 
are in the middle of the Gulf South; we straddle one of the mightiest 
rivers in the entire world. We have more oil and gas than most nations 
do, which we share with the American people. My people are experts in 
things like agriculture, aquaculture, shipbuilding, petrochemical 
manufacturing, oil and gas exploration, food, timber, healthcare. I 
could keep going. Our people are hard-working, God-fearing, and fun-
loving.
  I tell my friends Senator Cruz and Senator Cornyn all the time how 
much I love Texas--and I do. Gosh, Texas is a great State. Every day, 
it seems like it wins an award. Yet I tell Senator Cruz and Senator 
Cornyn--in jest, of course--look, Texas is 5\1/2\ times bigger than 
Louisiana, but give us credit as we are 10\1/2\ times more interesting 
than you are.
  We are just a fun, extraordinary, diverse State, but we need some 
help. We are not asking for extra; we are just asking for equity. I 
hope this Senate, in its wisdom, will pass the COASTAL Act.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Young). The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BROWN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.