More on Castor's Gulf Coast Bill

Kathy Castor is the sponsor of the Gulf of Mexico Economic and Environmental Restoration Act of 2010. The bill will address payment to the victims of the BP spill and environment clean-up. The Tampa Tribune editorial board has voiced it's support of the bill.

Some fishermen and hoteliers, meanwhile, have gone under or taken tremendous economic hits as Americans changed vacation plans to avoid the predicted damage. Across the country people have stopped buying Gulf shrimp, oysters and game fish, even though tests have, for the most part, indicated most of the catch is safe. The Gulf Coast "brand" has been damaged.

But Castor's bill would help pay for the efforts of the Gulf Coast states affected by the spill â Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana â to rebrand the region. The message is simple: The beaches are beautiful, the water clean and the food safe.

The Tampa Tribune is asking Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson to sponsor a Senate version of the bill. Rubio went on the CNN show The Situation Room to proclaim his support for offshore drilling as oil from the Deep Horizon pipe gushed into the ocean on a video screen behind him.



Sen. Nelson has a good environmental record. Nelson is Castor's best option in the Senate.

One thing the Obama administration can do is get rid of Kenneth Feinberg. People have become increasing unhappy with the way Feinberg as handled claims against BP. The Obama administration can restore confidence by sending Feinberg back to the Treasury Department. Feinberg has only paid out $44.1 million of the $20 billion from BP's compensation fund. Feinberg has been accused of being more concerned with protecting BP's interest than that of Gulf Coast residents. The Castor bill would speed up the claims process.