Washington, DC - In recognition of the two-year anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf Coast on April 20, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, released the following statement.

Senator Boxer said: "As we mark the two-year anniversary of the BP oil spill, we must not forget the significant economic and natural resource damages suffered by the Gulf Coast region and its residents. Over the past year, I have worked with my colleagues in the Senate to advance the bipartisan RESTORE Act to help rebuild the ecosystems and economy of the Gulf, which still have not fully recovered. The RESTORE Act was included in the Senate's surface transportation bill, MAP-21, which is going to conference, and we have a good opportunity to get this vitally important legislation to the President's desk. I remain committed to doing everything that I can to assist the Gulf Coast in its recovery from this devastating disaster."

The Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act of 2011 (RESTORE Act, S. 1400) was approved by the Environment and Public Works Committee on September 21, 2011. On March 8, 2012 by a vote of 76-22, the Senate adopted an amendment to Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21), S. 1813, containing the Committee-reported RESTORE Act. MAP-21 passed the Senate on March 14, 2012.

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