We need action, not more speeches

P.O. Box 9460
New Iberia, LA 70562
(337) 465-4263
June 16, 2010

Dear President Obama,

Despite sustaining several hardships in recent years from hurricanes to the recent oil spill, the residents of Southeast Louisiana remain a resilient and optimistic people. It is our faith in God and our principles and values which guide us in the face of these great challenges. I am writing to you now to ask for your help. Though we may differ significantly on political points of view, now is not the time to play politics. We need action from our leadership.

Your leadership and response to this event have been underwhelming. You have been criticized by many from across the political spectrum for the lack of involvement, specifically in the containment and cleanup effort. I would like to offer you an opportunity to demonstrate true leadership by taking immediate action on the following suggestions:

1. Temporarily suspend the Jones Act to allow international vessels with special equipment and technology to help us skim and remove the oil from the Gulf. It is inconceivable that even now, 50+ days from the Deep Water Horizon incident, we are not using an all hands on deck approach to dealing with this spill.

2. Publicly support modifying the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 to allow the coastal states in the Gulf of Mexico to increase their shares of oil royalties to the previously agreed amount of 37.5% now, as opposed to waiting until 2017. We cannot afford to wait until 2017 to protect and restore our coastline. In your address to the nation you made a commitment to dedicate the resources necessary to restore the unique beauty and bounty of this region. Encourage Congress to act and place action behind these words.

3. Publicly support removing federal barriers to efforts in Louisiana to protect and restore our coastline and marshes. The science behind our land loss has been well understood for decades. What has not been understood, at least by residents, is why it is so difficult to obtain permits and permission from federal bureaucracies like the Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency in order to begin restoration projects. Sir, we don’t need more studies. Rather, we need to take action with the knowledge we currently have.

4. Immediately end the moratorium on deep water drilling. Despite the rhetoric that we must put in place regulations that will prevent another disaster like this from ever occurring, this is simply talk. The truth is that there will always be risk involved in offshore oil drilling. Much the same that there is risk in operating a motor vehicle. Being a Certified Safety Professional and a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering, I know that as long as humans are involved no amount of regulation can provide a 100% assurance that a failure will not take place. Rather, we must establish a plan to enforce existing regulations, industry best practices, and place non-biased third parties on all deep water installations to ensure that we minimize the potential risk so that we can maintain safe drilling operations.

Your support for these actions is essential to helping Louisiana’s 3rd District not only protect and restore our coastline, but also enable us to maintain our local and state economy. A failure on your part to act, however, will require us to consider other avenues to secure our future. Although we are an optimistic people we are not incredibly patient. Moreover, as sovereign citizens of the State of Louisiana we reserve our rights defined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. We will take the actions necessary to protect our state, our livelihoods and our way of life.

I appreciate your consideration of these actions.


Regards,
Kristian Magar, Ph. D.
Candidate for U.S. Congress
Louisiana’s 3rd Congressional District
www.klm2010.com