Senator Landrieu Official PhotoMary L. Landrieu has been fighting and winning for Louisiana since she was first elected to the Louisiana state legislature at the age of 23. After serving eight years as a state representative and two terms as State Treasurer, in 1996 she became the first woman from Louisiana elected to a full term in the U.S. Senate. Senator Landrieu is currently the Chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security and a member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and Small Business and Entrepreneurship committees. The nonpartisan Congress.org has ranked Senator Landrieu as the tenth most effective legislator in the Senate. In 2014, Senator Landrieu was appointed chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. She became the first woman to lead the committee and the first Louisiana Senator to hold the gavel since J. Bennett Johnston nearly 20 years ago. The Senate Energy Committee sets policy for the nation’s oil and gas industry, the top job creator and economic engine for Louisiana. In 2006, Senator Landrieu spearheaded the landmark Domenici-Landrieu Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA). The bill expanded oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico by more than 8 million acres. It also shares the revenues produced offshore—an estimated $6 billion annually—with Louisiana to fund the states 50-year, $50 billion coastal master plan to protect Louisiana’s coastal communities from storm surges and coastal erosion. Senator Landrieu has been the leading voice in Washington for the Gulf Coast recovery effort. In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the failures of the federal levee system,she secured more than $120 billions in recovery dollars and has worked extensively to jumpstart recovery projects. She is committed to reforming the Federal Emergency Management Agency to ensure the nation’s disaster response arm is speedy and effective the next time a disaster strikes the United States, be it natural or manmade. In the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, Senator Landrieu passed the RESTORE the Gulf Coast Act, a bipartisan, regional approach to address the immense economic and environmental damage to Americas working coast. The RESTORE Act directs 80 percent of the Clean Water Act penalties paid by BP directly to the Gulf Coast. This represents the largest single investment in environmental restoration in our nations history. Senator Landrieu helped build a strong, bipartisan, hard-working coalition of Congress members to pass the RESTORE Act through Congress with overwhelming support. As the former chair of the Small Business Committee, Senator Landrieu led the effort to ensure all small businesses have access to capital and contracts, superior health insurance at a low cost and the resources needed to help boost our economy and guarantee America’s competiveness in the global marketplace. As one of the chairs on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Landrieu is a strong and effective voice for Louisiana. In 2012, the Senate appointed Senator Landrieu chair of the Appropriations Committees important Subcommittee on Homeland Security. This subcommittee is responsible for drafting legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Securitys 20 offices and seven sub-agencies. The Appropriations Committee is considered the most powerful panel on Capitol Hill. From this seat, she fights for Louisiana’s jobs and economic interests and the funding the state needs to rebuild from the 2005 and 2008 hurricanes.
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 02:37:58 +0000
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