June 3, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 103 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

[Pages S2687-S2688]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           THE GULF OF MEXICO

  Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, I want to talk for a few minutes today 
about the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund, the Great American Outdoors Act, and fairness.
  Let me start with the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act--GOMESA, as 
you know.
  Louisianians started drilling off our coast in the Gulf of Mexico in 
the 1930s. They were Louisiana people, Louisiana companies. There were 
some other States represented, as well, but they were primarily 
Louisiana companies.
  A lot of people laughed at us, said it can't be done: We know you can 
drill for oil and natural gas and supply the country's energy needs by 
onshore production, but offshore, man, you are dreaming.
  We did it. Then we did it again and we did it again and we did it 
again.
  All of a sudden, the Federal Government said: Huh, there is money to 
be had. And the Federal Government came in and said: Louisiana, you 
can't do that anymore. We own all the land under the oceans and the 
Gulf of Mexico.
  Well, predictably, Louisiana disagreed. We went to court. After 30 
years of litigation, Louisiana lost. The courts ended up ruling that 
Louisiana owns the land in the gulf from its coastline out to 3 miles, 
and the Federal Government owns the rest. And the Federal Government 
owns the rest. That is a little bit of oversimplification but not much.

  I always thought that was unfair. For example, Texas, our sister 
State--I love Texas--owns from its coastline 10 miles out. We only own 
3 miles out.
  More oil and gas wells were drilled in the Gulf of Mexico. It became 
one of the major--if not the major--sources of oil and natural gas for 
energy needs of America up to the point that we were producing and 
still are producing about $5 billion that goes right into the Treasury 
of the United States of America.
  In 2006, Congress passed GOMESA. Thank you, Congress, for doing this. 
GOMESA said that the Federal Government is going to start sharing some 
of those oil and gas royalties. We are not going to share all of them. 
We are just going to share the oil and gas royalties from lands under 
the ocean in the Gulf of Mexico for all future leases after 2006--not 
past leases, only future leases. Here is the new deal, according to 
Congress. On all these new leases drilled after 2006, the U.S. Treasury 
will take 50 percent of oil and gas royalties. The gulf-producing 
States will take 37.5 percent. By the gulf-producing States, I mean 
Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama. And 12.5 percent of the oil 
and gas royalties from these new leases--not old leases, these new 
leases--will go to the Land and Water Conservation Fund. I will come 
back to the Land and Water Conservation Fund in a moment.
  Keep in mind, I said that under GOMESA, Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, 
and Mississippi share in 37.5 percent of all the oil and gas royalties 
from the new leases, not the old leases. But the amount that we are 
entitled to receive is capped.
  To give you an idea of the money we are talking about, in 2019, the 
four Gulf producing States received about $350 million in offshore oil 
and gas royalties. Louisiana received $155 million of that $350 
million. There is a formula that apportions the money between and among 
the four gulf-producing States.
  GOMESA caps, in a fairly complicated formula, the amount the gulf-
producing States can receive under GOMESA at $375 million. Our four 
States will hit that cap in 2024. It doesn't matter how much drilling 
increases in the Gulf of Mexico, the four gulf-producing States can 
only receive $375 million, split among themselves, until, I think, 
2055.
  Other States not located on coastlines also have Federal lands on 
which oil and natural gas and coal and other minerals are produced. I 
am happy for them. They, as a result of congressional legislation--by 
``they'' I mean those other States, 24 of them--get 50

[[Page S2688]]

percent of the royalties of all the oil and gas and coal and other 
minerals produced from Federal lands in their States. The Feds get 50 
percent; the States get 50 percent.
  I am happy for them. I couldn't be more pleased for my sister States. 
I wish we got 50 percent--``we'' meaning the gulf-producing States. It 
seems unfair to me that we don't. We only get 37.5 percent on certain 
leases. Our sister States onshore get 50 percent of all leases. Their 
money isn't capped; ours is.
  Let me talk about the Land and Water Conservation Fund. As you know, 
this is a fund that was set up in 1964. It had to be authorized every 
now and then. We made it permanent 2 years ago--``we'' meaning, of 
course, Congress. The purpose of the Land and Water Conservation Fund 
is to take money appropriated by Congress and put it into that fund and 
use it to buy land and water to make that land and water public so that 
all Americans can enjoy it. I am supportive of that. I think most of us 
are.
  The only money dedicated to the Land and Water Conservation Fund is 
that 12.5 percent I talked about dedicated to the fund through GOMESA. 
The other moneys that have been put into the fund through the years, 
other than the GOMESA moneys, have had to be appropriated by Congress 
on a year-to-year basis. Once again, I am supportive of the concept, 
and I am happy as a clam at high tide that my sister States out west 
get 50 percent. I just think it is unfair that we only get 37.5 
percent.
  As you know, we are going to consider a bill next week called the 
Great American Outdoors Act. Here is what it would do. No. 1, it will 
set up a dedicated automatic funding source for the Land and Water 
Conservation Fund. That dedicated source is going to come from oil and 
gas royalties produced in the Gulf of Mexico.
  Remember, I told you that under GOMESA, the Federal Government 
automatically gets 50 percent of the royalties from the new leases. 
Henceforth, at least half of the 50 percent that is going into the 
Federal Treasury will now go into the Land and Water Conservation Fund. 
That is No. 1--permanent source of funding for the fund.
  Some have argued that we are--I mean, we are not having to borrow 
this money, and that is a good thing. But this money didn't fall from 
Heaven. It is coming out of the moneys the U.S. Treasury would receive 
otherwise from oil and gas production offshore. That means if the Land 
and Water Conservation Fund takes this money from the share that goes 
to the Federal Government and uses it for the fund, somebody else is 
going to get screwed because the money is going to be taken from 
somebody else and given to the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
  The Great American Outdoors Act also does something else. It sets up 
another sort of separate fund that a good bit of the oil and gas money 
is going to flow into for deferred maintenance on public lands that we 
already own. Of course, we all support that. I do. A lot of our parks 
are falling apart. I mean, they have roads that have holes big enough 
for a Mack truck to fall through. They have a backlog of deferred 
maintenance of $12 billion. And we are going to dedicate some money to 
try to chip away at that deferred maintenance. That is a good thing 
too.
  Here is what we end up with. We end up with a lot of our States 
getting 50 percent of all of the oil and gas and coal produced in their 
State with no cap. Now these States that have national parks--again, I 
am happy for them; I love national parks--they are going to get an 
extra big slug of money from the Gulf of Mexico. In the meantime, the 
gulf-producing States--primarily Louisiana, but also Texas, Alabama, 
Mississippi--we are going to be stuck at 37.5 percent. It is capped. It 
is capped. It is capped at a weeny $375 million a year from now until 
2055. With inflation, by 2055, it will be worth about 7 bucks and 23 
cents.
  That doesn't seem fair to me. It especially doesn't seem fair to me 
when you consider that basically the Gulf of Mexico is producing the 
money--actually, oil companies are. But how do the oil companies do 
that? They do it with Louisiana. Most of the leases and wells are off 
Louisiana's coast. I am not putting down Mississippi, Alabama, or Texas 
because there is drilling off their coast as well. But facts are facts. 
Most of the drilling is off Louisiana's coast. A lot of the workers are 
from Louisiana.

  Do you know what makes that drilling possible? Louisiana tax dollars. 
We pay for the roads that support Port Fourchon, which is vital and 
located in my State for that oil and gas production. We pay for the 
schools that educate the kids of the workers. We take all the risk.
  We know what happened with the BP oilspill. If there is another 
oilspill in the Gulf, it is Louisiana and Texas and Alabama and 
Mississippi that are going to get slammed. It is not going to be the 
inland States. That is where I said I am going to talk about fairness.
  Senator Cassidy--and I don't see speak for Senator Cassidy. 
Understand, he is my senior Senator. But he and I are working on a way 
to improve the Great American Outdoors Act. It is going to make it so 
much better.
  I am introducing a bill tomorrow, and I am going to offer an 
amendment to the Great American Outdoors Act--once again, I don't speak 
for Senator Cassidy, but I think he will support it--that is going to 
remove the cap on the amount of oil and gas royalties that the four 
gulf-producing States can receive under GOMESA.
  Let me say it again. Right now, nobody else is capped. We are capped. 
The most that Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas can receive, 
split among ourselves, is $375 million. We are going to hit that cap in 
2024, and it will remain until 2055. We all know with inflation it is 
not going to be worth $375 million in 2055. It is capped.
  All I am saying and all Senator Cassidy is saying, and I think--I 
don't speak for them either, but my colleagues from the gulf-producing 
States--all we are saying is: Let's be a little fair here. If you don't 
have a cap onshore, let's don't have a cap offshore. My little old 
amendment would just remove that cap and make the Great American 
Outdoors Act even greater.
  Senator Cassidy and I and other Senators from the gulf-producing 
States are also working on some other ideas that I don't feel 
comfortable talking about today, but we have some other ways we think 
we can improve the Great American Outdoors Act.
  I wanted to come here today and say, once again, I am not criticizing 
any of my sister States. I am happy as I can be for all the States that 
don't have caps and that do get to share in 50 percent of the 
royalties. I am just asking for a little fairness and equity, just a 
little bit for the gulf-producing States by allowing us to remove that 
cap.
  With that, I either yield the floor or I suggest the absence of a 
quorum, whichever the Parliamentarian tells me to do.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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