Murkowski/Landrieu Dirty Energy Proposal a Non-starter

March 20, 2013-WASHINGTON, D.C– Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Mary Landrieu (D-La.) unveiled their proposal to increase the amounts states receive from federal offshore oil and gas revenues. The measure would continue to give half of the federal revenues from on-shore energy projects to host states and would give up to 37.5 % of federal energy revenues produced off-shore to coastal states. The following is a statement on the proposal from Defenders of Wildlife former president and CEO Jamie Rappaport Clark:

“The Murkowski/Landrieu revenue sharing proposal is a non-starter. It provides financial incentives for states to promote dirty and unsustainable fossil fuel extraction. It also strips the federal government of billions of dollars of financial resources at a time when budgets are already cut to the bone.

“The federal government, the American taxpayer and wildlife across the country cannot afford the additional pollution from incentivized fossil fuels, nor the billions of dollars that this bill would take from the federal treasury. We need to end the dependence on dirty energy, not to encourage it.”

Contact: Haley Mckey, 202-772-0247, hmckey@defenders.org

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