As if the State of Louisiana did not have enough budgetary issues at hand, with Obama’s proposed budget, we as a state stand to lose millions of dollars in revenue from offshore oil rigs.

The Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, or GOMESA, requires the federal government to distribute to Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, 37.5 percent of the money it collects from offshore oil and gas rigs in the Gulf of Mexico.

Our Senator, David Vitter, said in a statement released on Monday:

“The President’s budget plan to funnel the Gulf states’ offshore energy revenue out of those states is incredibly insulting to Louisianians. In Louisiana, federal revenue from offshore energy activity goes directly to coastal restoration. Our coasts are the first line of defense to a hurricane or tropical storm; plus, they represent a critical part of our ecosystem. We’re losing large amounts of coastline every day, and funding our coastal restoration projects is incredibly important,” said Vitter.

The article from The Washington Post identifies the following information from the budget:

Funds will instead be directed to programs that offer broader natural resource, watershed, and conservation benefits for the entire Nation, help the Federal government fulfill its role of being a good neighbor to local communities, and support other national priorities.

Obama’s administration is yet again using money that has a specific intent and purpose in his grand scheme of “redistribution.”