WASHINGTON – Congressman Jo Bonner joined other Gulf Coast lawmakers in voting to pass an amendment that orders the creation of a Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund, which will receive 80 percent of Clean Water Act oil spill fines for restoration of the Gulf Region.

The legislative language, which passed the full House Thursday as an amendment to the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act, will advance the effort to pass the full RESTORE Act which has not yet come up for a House vote.

“While not the end of our efforts to make the Gulf Coast whole after the BP—Deepwater Horizon oil spill nearly two years ago, the amendment before the House today is the first vote taken in either the House or Senate to create the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund and is an important step forward,” observed Congressman Jo Bonner.

“By going on record in passing the RESTORE amendment, the House today sent a signal to the Justice and Treasury Departments that the House of Representatives agrees that 80 percent of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill fines should be reserved in a trust fund for Gulf Coast restoration.

“The creation of the Gulf Coast Restoration Trust Fund is a critical step to ensuring that the penalties paid by BP and other responsible parties are set aside for future expenditure to remediate the long-term environmental and economic damage done to each of the five Gulf States.”

The RESTORE amendment passed the House by voice vote.

Here’s a video of Rep. Bonner’s floor statement on the RESTORE Amendment