Focus of the Hearing:
The hearing will focus on the escalating demand for charitable assistance to help residents and wildlife in the Gulf Coast region and examine how donations contributed to charities for the region are being used. The Catholic Charities USA (CCUSA) reports that there is a dire need to access funding that can be used to meet the needs of the Gulf Coast population. CCUSA reports that, unlike other disasters, the Gulf Coast crisis is not a disaster for which agencies are receiving large amounts of resources to meet the growing social services needs of the population. As of June 29, 2010, CCUSA had provided more than 20,000 individuals (7,000 families) with services and assistance, including food (90 percent of requests), baby supplies, housing assistance, medical assistance, gas/fuel assistance, and mental health counseling services. On May 18, 2010, Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans and another tax-exempt organization received a $1 million grant from BP America for short-term (60 days), emergency assistance to residents; however, as of June 29, 2010, the entire grant had been depleted.
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is a Congressionally established nonprofit organization that is partnering with government agencies, corporations, and charitable organizations to take immediate action to enhance habitat outside the areas affected by the oil spill for the more than 50 million shorebirds, waterfowl, marsh birds, and other migratory species that feed, rest, and nest in the Gulf. In addition, NFWF and others have initiated the transfer of 70,000 sea turtle eggs from the Gulf shores to the Atlantic Coast to prevent the loss of an entire sea turtle generation. On June 22, 2010, BP announced that it will donate net revenue from the sale of oil recovered from the spill to NFWF and immediately provided $5 million in initial funding.
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