Louisiana Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu is joining forces with Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska over energy revenue sharing.
They are introducing legislation to make sure all energy-producing states get a fair share of the money they generate.
Landrieu says on-shore producing states keep 50 percent, while states with offshore production get only a fraction.
“This injustice has been going on since the 1920s, and the coastal states keep saying, ‘What is it about coastal states that the federal government doesn’t recognize?’ What is it about Alaska or Louisiana or Texas or Massachusetts or North Carolina or, you know, Alabama, that the federal government doesn’t understand the impacts are virtually the same for production of natural resources.”
Critics have been wary of plans that could shrink the federal treasury and possibly increase off-shore drilling.
Landrieu says money that could be gained by a new system of revenue sharing could pay for coastal restoration, encourage alternative energy sources, and generate jobs.