WASHINGTON, DC – Following President Obama’s address to the nation to discuss the Gulf oil spill, U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, issued the statement below:

“The Deepwater Horizon rig explosion and subsequent spill has had far reaching repercussions, forever changing the lives of the 126 people on board the rig, including 11 who lost their lives, and their families.  It has also wreaked havoc on the environment of the Gulf region, and brought uncertainty to the lives of the men and women who depend on the Gulf to make their living.  Just today, a new report was released which estimates 35,000-65,000 barrels of oil a day are leaking into the Gulf; up from last week’s estimates of 12,600-50,000 barrels a day and up to 12 times more than original figures of 5,000 barrels a day released by BP.

I appreciate President Obama’s continued involvement and attention to the current disaster in the Gulf region and I thank him for his leadership, including four trips down to the Gulf region.  In naming Michael Bromwich as the new head of Minerals Management Services, the president has sent a clear signal that the close relationships between regulators and oil companies that had become standard practice at MMS will no longer be tolerated.   

I have held two hearings on the role of BP in the Deepwater Horizon Explosion and subsequent oil spill, including a field hearing in Chalmette, Louisiana to examine the spill’s effects on the communities and environment of the Gulf Coast region.  There I heard from victims most affected by this tragedy, including the widows of two of the workers who lost their lives in the Deepwater Horizon explosion and from shrimpers and other small businesses owners impacted by this spill.  The president’s call for BP to set aside the funds necessary to clean this spill, and compensate these small business owners in full and in a timely manner is critical. 

Despite these positive steps by the administration, it is disheartening to hear executives from the five largest oil companies in the United States admit that their companies do not have the technology or ability to adequately handle a spill of this magnitude.  We know spills will occur.  If we are going to allow companies to drill for oil, especially in ecologically sensitive areas, it is only common sense to require that they be able to contain and clean a catastrophic spill.  Today, ExxonMobile CEO Rex Tillerson acknowledged that they do not have the ability to contain and clean up these large spills.  While these companies have developed and improved technology to drill in deeper and deeper waters, they chose to forgo investing in upgrades on technology to prevent and contain a spill to further pad their bottom line.  This is simply unacceptable.

I am looking forward to a vigorous discussion with BP CEO Tony Hayward in our Oversight and Investigations hearing on Thursday.  With a greater understanding of what went wrong on the Deepwater Horizon rig we can start to put measures in place that will help prevent a catastrophe like this from happening again.”

On Thursday, June 17 Stupak will chair a hearing on the role of BP in the Deepwater Horizon Explosion and subsequent oil spill.  This will be the third hearing Stupak has held on the Gulf spill, including a field hearing in Chalmette, Louisiana. 

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