The Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection held a hearing entitled “The BP Oil Spill and Gulf Coast Tourism:  Assessing the Impact,” on Tuesday, July 27, 2010, in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building.  The hearing explored both the damages suffered by the tourism industry in the Gulf region and the process by which the independent Gulf Coast Claims Facility will evaluate tourism-related claims.

Chairman Henry A. Waxman and Subcommittee Chairman Bart Stupak sent a letter today to Cynthia Quarterman, Administrator of the Deptartment of Transporation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, and Deborah A.P. Hersman, Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, requesting a briefing into the recent explosion of a gas pipeline on September 9 in San Bruno, California.