July 22, 2011
Support the RESTORE the Gulf Coast Act of 2011
Legislation directs necessary funding for economic development and fisheries improvement
For more information, contact American Sportfishing Association Vice President Gordon Robertson, 703-519-9691, x237, or ASA Ocean Resource Policy Director Mike Leonard, x230.
The 2011 RESTORE the Gulf Coast Act (S. 1400), introduced on July 21, by Senators Cochran (R-MS), Hutchison (R-TX), Landrieu (D-LA), Nelson (D-FL), Rubio (R-FL), Sessions (R-AL), Shelby (R-AL), Vitter (R-LA) and Wicker (R-MS), directs 80 percent of the Clean Water Act penalties charged to BP for its April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster to the restoration of the Gulf Coast environment and economy.
This bill directs critical funding to the Gulf of Mexico region to help revitalize coastal communities and improve fisheries habitat and data collection. The American Sportfishing Association strongly supports this legislation and the benefits it will provide for the thousands of recreational-fishing dependent businesses who continue to try and rebound from the oil spill’s economic and environmental impacts.
The RESTORE the Gulf Coast Act allocates a portion of the funds equally to the five Gulf Coast states for ecological and economic recovery, and establishes the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council to develop and fund a comprehensive plan for the ecological recovery and resiliency of the Gulf Coast. Importantly, the Act also establishes an endowment that includes funding for needed fisheries stock assessments and ecosystem monitoring. Click here to view a fact sheet of the bill. It is important to note that this bill only directs funding from the Clean Water Act penalties charged to BP for the disaster and does not direct and new federal spending.
ACT NOW!
ASA encourages you to FAX a letter to your Members of Congress on your company letterhead in support of the RESTORE the Gulf Coast Act. A template message is included below for your reference. Please be sure to include specific information on your company. You can find your legislators’ FAX numbers by going to ASA’s Legislative Action Center and entering your zip code. It’s important that all Members of Congress see support for this important legislation.
You may also click here to send your message to Congress electronically.
Dear Senator/Representative __________:
I am writing to ask for your support of the 2011 RESTORE the Gulf Coast Act, S. 1400. This legislation directs 80 percent of the Clean Water Act penalties charged to BP for the April 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster to the restoration of the Gulf Coast environment and economy.
This bill provides critical funding to the Gulf of Mexico region to help revitalize coastal communities and improve fisheries habitat and data collection benefiting the thousands of recreational-fishing dependent businesses who continue to try and rebound from the oil spill’s economic and environmental impacts.
My company, ___________, is located in ___________ and employs ____ people. As a member of the sportfishing industry, it’s essential that funding be directed to recreational fishing-dependent businesses and the fisheries and habitat affected by the oil spill disaster. The combination of the biological impacts and the public’s perception of the extent of those impacts caused severe economic harm to the region.
The RESTORE the Gulf Coast Act allocates a portion of the funds equally to the five Gulf Coast states for ecological and economic recovery, and establishes the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council to develop and fund a comprehensive plan for the ecological recovery and resiliency of the Gulf Coast. Importantly, the Act also establishes an endowment that includes funding for needed fisheries stock assessments and ecosystem monitoring.
Recreational fishing contributes $41 billion dollars in economic output in the Gulf Coast region annually and supports over 300,000 jobs. This legislation provides a strong framework for long-term investment in business recovery and fisheries resources.
On behalf of this nation’s recreational fishing community, I strongly urge you to support this legislation which will help bring back the local economies and allow us to better understand, and restore, the Gulf’s fisheries and their habitat, arguably the most popular, but also the most data-poor, of any region in the country.
Sincerely,
