“I am working hard to find the middle ground between Drill Baby Drill and the moratorium.“ said Melancon. Melancon seems to realize that in order to get us out of the terrible position that we are in right now is to find compromise while NOT hurting Louisiana any further. Melancon told me that this bill will pull the oil industry out of the limbo and court battles that we are currently facing and provide a pathway for deep water oil production to resume, safely. “For those rigs who are meeting their requirements it will put them back to work.” Melancon focused on the fact that right now the rigs that are meeting and or exceeding the requirements – doing everything right and having a long track record of safety deserve a way to get back producing so that the region is not further damaged by having thousands of people out of work which causes the entire country to import even more oil. This issue isn’t easily broken down into sound bites and is problematic for those who oppose this bill as they only seem to be politicizing the issue and not what is best for our state and indeed the nation. “I have seen no effort by Senator Vitter to pass this bill, only to attack me” says Melancon. Which leaves the very difficult task up to Senator Mary Landrieu to get this work done before the Senate gavels out for 6 weeks in little more than 3 days. “I will continue working with Senator Landrieu” to get the votes needed to pass the bill. Clearly the problem for Melancon is – this issue is not an easy issue. Any responsible person who thinks this is a black and white issue is terribly mistaken. Resuming the “wild wild west” out in our Gulf where corporate interests and corporate greed outweigh any concerns over safety of the workers or prevention of any accidents cannot continue. Yet this nation as well as our local economy need those jobs and that oil. Melancon is looking out for our interests by insuring that of the fines that will be leveled against BP for this spill, over $1.2 Billion of which Louisiana stands to receive the lions share, will be directed to Costal Restoration. These monies “will be managed by Federal, State and Local folks” says Melancon which will allow for the much needed oversight to insure the maximum positive result for Louisiana. Melancon was clear to point out that these funds are not taxpayer dollars but are directly from the fines that will be leveled against BP. Melancon closed with “it is about doing this safely.” Clearly as we transition to more “green” technologies we will continue to rely on Oil and Gas production and we need those jobs, and we need the oil to power our country. But Melancon’s task, and it is a big one, is to Educate the public on this matter so they understand what truly is at risk. What really impressed this reporter with Melancon on this call was, he was right there sticking up for our shrimpers and fishermen and the men and women of the coast who rely on them. This isn’t just about the Oil Industry – it is about a fragile economy that has been limping along since Katrina & Rita and is now all but devastated thanks to BP. Getting us out of this won’t be easy but playing politics in an effort to save your own job, which appears to be what Senator Vitter is doing, surely cannot be the right way. |
Today Congressman and Democratic Challenger to Senator Vitter, Charlie Melancon called on the Senate to finish their work before they leave town. 
