House Resolution 2

(As Adopted by House)

A RESOLUTION URGING THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS TO PASS LEGISLATION ACCELERATING THE TIMETABLE FOR OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF REVENUE SHARING.

WHEREAS, for more than 50 years, the citizens of the Gulf Coast have worked tirelessly to produce critical domestic energy supplies for our country; however, the Deepwater Horizon disaster has made abundantly clear that those contributions to the nation's energy security have not come without cost to our coastal communities and our coastal environment; and

WHEREAS, clearly, coastal states that allow offshore oil and gas production may sustain impacts that are at least comparable to states that host onshore oil and gas development; nonetheless, coastal states are not treated equitably; and

WHEREAS, states that host onshore energy production on federal lands within their borders receive 50 percent of the revenues; yet, despite the fact that they carry a similar risk of impact, coastal states do not receive a correspondingly fair share of the rewards from offshore energy production; and

WHEREAS, the consequences of this inequity have been made apparent by the Deepwater Horizon disaster that has impacted our fragile coastline; and

WHEREAS, justice for the Gulf Coast will require a significant amount of funding to ensure that the coastline is made sustainable and resilient in the face of future threats, be they natural or manmade; and

WHEREAS, the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 marked an important, but incomplete, step toward correcting this inequitable treatment and achieving justice for the Gulf Coast by mandating, for the first time, the sharing of offshore oil and gas revenues with the Gulf producing states; and

WHEREAS, unfortunately, the act provides that the revenue will not be shared equitably for another seven years, and that is too long for our threatened coastal communities to wait; and

WHEREAS, we cannot delay solving this inequity, and Gulf producing states, currently facing a crisis created from the Deepwater Horizon spill, must be treated the same as those states with onshore energy products on federal lands; and

WHEREAS, we urge you to fight for the acceleration of this critical revenue sharing legislation:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to pass legislation accelerating the timetable for outer continental shelf revenue sharing.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the Mississippi Congressional Delegation; the Honorable Harry Reid, Senate Majority Leader; the Honorable Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader; the Honorable Nancy Pelosi, House Speaker; the Honorable John Boehner, House Minority Leader; and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.