[StBernard] Responding to Obama`s BP address, and honoring Juneteenth

Westley Annis Westley at da-parish.com
Sat Jun 19 18:52:28 EDT 2010


Dear Friends,

This week, President Obama delivered an important address to America, where
he emphatically stated his commitment to restoring the Gulf Coast, promised
to keep the pressure on BP to make our people whole, and outlined the need
to invest in technologies that will lessen our reliance on oil and gas. His
speech lacked specific details, but it nonetheless represented a promising
first step. I am continuing to push his administration to drop their
potentially devastating deepwater drilling moratorium, and ask that they
back my plan to accelerate revenue sharing for the Gulf Coast. This week I
am also recognizing the 145th anniversary of Juneteenth, the day in 1865
that slaves were liberated in America. Read on to learn more about these two
important events.


Responding to the President's Oval Office Address


Senator Landrieu joined James Carville and Sammy Kershaw on Larry King Live
<http://landrieu.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=21
00059698.5665.633&gen=1&mailing_linkid=12616> Tuesday to offer her thoughts
on the President's Oval Office address on the BP oil catastrophe.


<http://landrieu.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=21
00059698.5665.633&gen=1&mailing_linkid=12616>

Sen. Landrieu lauded the President's commitment to coastal restoration, but
again criticized his plan to impose a moratorium on deep-water drilling
<http://landrieu.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=21
00059698.5665.633&gen=1&mailing_linkid=12617> . Last week, Sen. Landrieu
sent a letter to President Obama
<http://landrieu.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=21
00059698.5665.633&gen=1&mailing_linkid=12618> urging him to consider a
number of alternatives to an economically devastating moratorium. Sen.
Landrieu has also continued her call for granting Gulf Coast states their
fair share of offshore revenues
<http://landrieu.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=21
00059698.5665.633&gen=1&mailing_linkid=12619> immediately, rather than
requiring states to wait until 2017, as they must under current law. Sen.
Landrieu has said she will not support any energy bill that does not
immediately provide these funds, which are critical to restoring the state's
wetlands, and providing protection from oil spills and hurricanes.


Celebrating Juneteenth, Emancipation Day


Tomorrow, Sen. Landrieu will observe Juneteenth
<http://landrieu.enews.senate.gov/mail/util.cfm?mailaction=clickthru&gpiv=21
00059698.5665.633&gen=1&mailing_linkid=12620> , or "Freedom Day," which
recognizes the day in 1865 that enslaved African Americans were set free.
This June 19th marks the 145th anniversary of slaves' emancipation.

"Juneteenth is one of the most significant days in American history," said
Sen. Landrieu. "It is hard for us living in a day and age when important
news makes it half-way around the world in an instant to imagine a time when
it took more than two years for the news of emancipation to make it to many
of those waiting to be freed from slavery. This day of African-American
freedom is a time where we commemorate the end of the ugliest chapter in our
country's history, celebrate our progress on racial equality and look ahead
to a future where our differences are entirely eclipsed by our shared values
and common purpose."

Sen. Landrieu is a lifelong advocate for civil rights. In 2005, she
sponsored a Senate resolution apologizing to lynching victims and their
families for the Senate's failure to enact federal anti-lynching legislation
during the first part of the 20th century. Sen. Landrieu is a proud
supporter of the movement to highlight Juneteeth's significance in American
history.




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