Navy Secretary Ray Mabus recently recommended Congress use a share of BP fines for restoring the Gulf Coast, specifically environmental, economic, and health impacts stemming from the oil spill. Mabus released his report to Congress on the effects of BP’s oil in the Gulf of Mexico. Mabus cited the Foundation for the Mid South as a model of a proposed entity that can cut through funding red tape because of its ability to support various kinds of projects, mainly those that cannot be covered by the government.  His suggestion is to encourage the private sector (including oil companies) to create a nonprofit organization  to fund projects aimed at the long-term restoration of the Gulf Coast.
Read the article in The Times-Picyaune