WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) issued the following statement today on the proposed budget's impact on the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA):

“It's vital for Louisiana and other states along the Gulf of Mexico to continue to get a share of the federal revenue from offshore drilling.  That's why GOMESA exists; this money is used for critical coastal and wetlands restoration and preservation.  I fully support GOMESA and, after talking to many of my Senate colleagues, I'm confident that GOMESA will be preserved and will not be repealed.

“However, I want to be clear: I support Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney's goals of spending less, eliminating waste, reducing the deficit and paying off the national debt.  This proposed budget is the first step in crafting a final spending plan, and undoubtedly there will be changes to it.  Reasonable people can disagree, and obviously we disagree about the essentialness of GOMESA to Gulf states.  However, we agree that the federal government needs to curtail its spending.

“The truth is that the federal government wastes an enormous amount of taxpayer money and it needs to stop now.  The federal government is borrowing $4 billion a day to maintain its current spending levels.  My family would not survive if we just charged more and more each month to our credit card with no end in sight, and neither will this great country.”

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