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Rep. Melancon Comments on President’s Address to the Nation on the BP Oil Spill |
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June 16, 2010
WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Congressman Charlie Melancon (LA-03) made the following statement following President Barack Obama’s address to the nation on the BP Oil Spill.
“Tonight, the President promised the people of south Louisiana that our government would fight this disaster with ‘everything we’ve got, for as long as it takes.’ We will hold him to that pledge.
“Our recovery along the Gulf Coast will be long and expensive, and the President recognized those realities in his speech to the nation. BP must be held 100% accountable for cleaning up this mess and making our people whole. I am pleased the President is going to demand that BP set aside whatever resources are necessary to fully compensate all the workers and businesses in Louisiana who have been harmed. And I agree that BP shouldn’t be the judge of whose losses are ‘legitimate,’ any more than we would leave a fox to guard the henhouse.
“I welcome the President’s appointment of Secretary Mabus as the point person to steer the development of a long-term Gulf Coast Restoration Plan. These are America’s Wetlands, and saving them must be a national priority.
“The President failed to offer a sensible way forward for our nation on offshore drilling that would improve safety standards without continuing the moratorium. Bringing drilling to a screeching halt will deal another blow to Louisiana workers and businesses that are already reeling from the impact of the oil disaster. When I meet with Secretary Salazar tomorrow, I will ask him to listen to the people of south Louisiana who are calling out for an end to the moratorium.”
Congressman Melancon has been leading efforts in Louisiana to coordinate the private, federal, state, and local response to the oil leak caused by the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform on April 20th. He represents in Congress the areas of coastal Louisiana most directly affected by the oil leak, including Plaquemines, St. Bernard, Terrebonne, Lafourche and southern Jefferson Parishes. The Deepwater Horizon platform was located 50 miles off the coast of Louisiana’s Third Congressional District.
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