President Donald Trump's proposed fiscal year 2018 budget "robs Louisiana of financial resources promised to us for coastal restoration" by calling for the repeal of a law that was set to provide the state with as much as $140 million a year in revenue from Gulf offshore oil and gas, Gov. John Bel Edwards said Tuesday (May 23).
Trump's budget also threatens key health care services for Louisiana residents, Edwards said in a news release urging the state's Congressional delegation to oppose Trump's budget proposal, "including cutting federal funding for Medicaid patients and health care providers by eliminating Medicaid expansion coverage and cutting health care for elderly and disabled residents."
The budget also calls for major cuts in the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which offers health care to 122,000 Louisiana children, he said.
"In recent years, Louisiana and waters just off its shore have been the second largest producer of crude oil and natural gas in the nation," Edwards said, referring to his opposition to killing GOMESA. "Republican and Democratic leaders from Louisiana have fought to secure dedicated funding to offset the effects of oil and gas leasing and production along our coast. Permanent sharing of federal revenues is critical to ensure Louisiana's coast remains fully operational, protects vital national infrastructure and provides the necessary barriers to protect our working coast and citizens."
Keep in mind, though, there's a long way to go and this is not, in fact, the actual budget. Trump isn't even the first President to try and deny Louisiana's share of oil revenue. I guess we should argue that even though the President's proposal is a "wish list" it still sets the parameters of the ensuing congressional debates. But this thing is so absurd and everything is so upside down in Trump world that... well.. how can we take any of this seriously?
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