Voters: Spend Fines on Gulf Restoration

US polling results reveal that 84% of Florida voters and 92% of Panhandle voters support a bill approved by a Senate committee that would ensure that BP oil spill fines are spent on Gulf restoration. The poll also showed that 75% of Florida voters and 82% of Panhandle voters are more likely to support candidates who back the legislation. 

The poll, which was conducted by U.S. Senator Bill Nelson's pollster, Hamilton Campaigns, and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio's pollster, Ayres McHenry & Associates, sampled 700 registered Florida voters in the metropolitan areas of Miami, Orlando, the Panhandle/Northeast, South Central Florida and Tampa, who are likely to vote in the November 2012 election.

 

Last Monday, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force issued its final strategy for reversing oil spill damage, recommending that Congress devote a "significant portion" of the BP oil spill fines toward restorations efforts in the gulf, which was was saturated with more than more than 20 million gallons of oil following the 2010 explosion of BP's Deepwater Horizon rig.

 

The RESTORE the Gulf Coast States Act, which was co-authored by Nelson and Rubio, would dedicate 80% of the estimated USD5-USD21 billion in expected fines for the oil spill to restoring the gulf ecosystem and economy. If Congress fails to pass the RESTORE Act, spill fines will go toward reducing the federal deficit or unrelated federal programs.