“It shouldn’t have taken a tragic oil spill to make commonsense reforms at MMS and the Department of the Interior that might have prevented this spill,” said Rep. Issa who has launched an investigation into the spill. 

“I still believe the technology exists for safe offshore drilling, but until we know that government regulators will ensure it is used effectively we simply cannot place coastal areas at unacceptable risk of environmental tragedy.”

2006-2007

In 2006, I led a year-long bipartisan investigation exposing management failures and a broken bureaucracy at MMS that had already cost taxpayers billions in mismanaged oil and natural gas leases.

MMS, an agency within the Department of the Interior, collects royalties representing approximately $12 billion of revenue for the federal government and is also responsible for regulating the safety of offshore drilling efforts by companies including BP.

Calls for reform at MMS fell on deaf ears in Washington.

2009

In 2009, I issued a new investigative report into MMS and legislation taking steps to reform the troubled agency, urging the Obama Administration to take action.

In October 2009 I said, “Problems at MMS did not originate in this Administration or its predecessor, but there is a bureaucracy and dysfunctional culture that has to be held accountable.”

2010

Requests for the Administration to act would again fall on deaf ears until after the April 20, 2010 explosion.

(Click here to watch web video:  “How Safe is MMS?”)

Following massive attention on the Gulf spill, President Barack Obama’s appointed head of MMS, resigned and the Administration has scrambled to assemble plans for reforming MMS.

I will continue fighting to make sure the Federal government takes correct and necessary action.

More Information

Click here to watch Rep. Issa discuss Failure of Government Oversight of Oil Platforms (5/4/10)

Click here to read President Obama's Remarks on the Spill (6/15/10)

Click here to read Rep. Issa's response to President Obama's Remarks (6/15/10)

Click here to watch Rep. Issa call on President Obama to Outline a Plan for Keeping or Replacing Gulf Coast Jobs (6/15/10)

Click here to read Rep. Issa's letter to the Department of Interior for Answers on the Drilling Moratorium and the Sand Berm Order (6/24/10)

Websites and Hotlines

Click here for detailed information about the response effort.

To volunteer, call 1-866-448-5816