I will keep this letter short, and to the point..

The damage caused by Katrina, was caused in part by severe
coastal/wetland losses. Over the years, we have had major salt water intrusion, because of hundreds/thousands of miles of canals dug, leading into our freshwater marsh systems. This was done by oil/gas companies..

5 BILLION dollars per year, are snatched from us by the Federal
Government, in the form of Royalties from Oil/Gas sales. This is an issue
that dates back to the late 40’s! So, what’s happening.. is that oil/gas
is taken out of our state.. and sold, but we don’t receive a dime of
the royalties from it. Then, to top it off.. our land gets destroyed in
the process! What really makes me mad… is that this has gone on for
years.. decades.. and people have the nerve to get mad when we ask for
help to rebuild our levees/marshes?! Ok.. keep your tax dollars.. give
us back our damn royalties! And, we’ll take care of our own problems!

What’s sad… is that we spend billions in Foreign aid every year..
but, the people of this country don’t want to lift a finger to help their
own fellow statesmen.. That’s pretty appalling.. It makes me wonder
about the direction that our country is headed in. Our state/local leaders
need to get off of their asses, and make a stand in Washington! Enough
is ENOUGH!

Travis Burelle
Houma, LA