By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – In an effort to become more familiar with the region he is likely to represent in the fall, U.S. Congressman Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, was in St. John the Baptist and St. Charles parishes recently touring industrial facilities and speaking with the media on a variety of topics.

Cassidy, whose Baton Rouge-based district was redrawn last year following the 2010 Census, now represents a sprawling district that includes portions of Pointe Coupee, Terrebonne, Ascension and Livingston parishes, as well as east bank portions of St. John and St. Charles parishes. The seat is up for election in November.

“The size of the district and the location of the constituents is really not a concern for me,” Cassidy said. “I have told people that I don’t care where they live, I’m going to represent them to the fullest.”

Cassidy made stops in Norco, touring a major expansion project at the Valero St. Charles Refinery, and in St. Rose, getting a look at a petroleum and petrochemical tank terminal owned by IMTT. He said Valero’s new investment in its refinery shows the value of market-driven economic policy.

“Valero is spending $500 million to expand its plant, which is, in effect, going to create lots of new jobs,” Cassidy said. “It is an uncertain economy for investment right now, and this is a marker of success. I personally believe that the decisions by the Obama administration to de-emphasize fossil fuel use are not based on common sense.”

Cassidy was critical of recent decisions to guarantee loans to failed solar panel company Solyndra and called it an example of the administration picking winners and losers in the economy.

“There’s a certainly a difference between having a heavy hand and trying to decide who wins or loses and creating a program where we can see 30 years down the road and set the groundwork so when we get there we’re prepared,” Cassidy said. “The U.S. did that in the 1960s with the space program. The technology transfers there led to new technological leaps through the U.S. economy.”

Cassidy also expressed his support of efforts by Congress to get legislation pertaining to coastal restoration and river management back into proposed bills in the government’s highway and transportation budget.

The first is the RESTORE Act, which would ensure that at least 80 percent of the fines from BP as a result of the gulf oil spill will be set aside for Gulf Coast states rather than just going into a general fund.

“These were the states most affected,” Cassidy said. “It is important to concentrate efforts on repairing and restoring our coast.”

The other piece of legislation is the RAMP Act, which helps restore the revenue from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund for maintenance and dredging. Cassidy said the Obama administration is not designating 100 percent of the revenue to U.S. waterways.

“We need to spend that money on the maintenance of our rivers and the ports that utilize them,” Cassidy said. “Port commerce is a major part of our economy, and without proper maintenance, large ocean-going vessels will go elsewhere. It will make it less economical to use the river to send material overseas.”