We're All In This Together

 Responding to the Gulf Oil Spill, and Protecting Atlantic Coast Beaches and Our Chesapeake Bay

America is facing a catastrophe in the Gulf.  This is a national emergency that needs an aggressive national response.  We need to organize and mobilize our own government.  Right now we are acting like a bureaucracy rather than a fighting force to protect the beaches and the people from the consequences of the oil spill. 

I went to the Gulf Coast as chair of the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee, which funds the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).  NOAA is in the Gulf right now telling us where this oil is going, helping to clean up the shores and marshes and assisting fishermen who are hurting.

I also went as the Senator from Maryland.  I wanted to talk to scientists first hand to find out how the spill could impact Maryland.  Will it affect our beaches and treasured Chesapeake Bay.   We asked - is the oil going to come up the East Coast in this so-called "loop current?"  We were told the beaches of Ocean City will be safe.  Even in the worst case scenario, the oil won't get beyond the Carolinas.  That's what we were told, but I believe what Ronald Reagan said: "Trust, but verify."

We met the people, we saw the beaches, and we saw the impact on the wildlife.  And everywhere we went, we saw oil and the consequences of oil.  I spoke to people whose livelihoods depend on the Gulf.  When we talk about what we saw - words like "Louisiana," "Grand Isle" and "Pelican Island" - I also think of words like "Ocean City" and "Assateague," Maryland's own barrier island.  What we saw was the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Maryland's economy is tied to the Louisiana economy.  That's why I'm holding a Maryland delegation meeting to make sure that we bring in ocean scientists and seafood inspectors to verify that our Atlantic coast beaches and our Chesapeake Bay will stay oil free and our seafood will be safe to eat.

We need answers to some tough questions.  Dispersant sounds like if you pour chemicals on the oil the oil will disburse and everything's fine.  I am concerned that dispersants could be causing more problems than they are solving.  I am concerned about the toxic impact on human beings and marine life creating dead zones off the coast of Louisiana.

That's why I plan to hold a hearing to learn more about the effects of these dispersants - what do we already know, what do we need to know, and what research needs to be done - because I don't want dispersants to turn out to be the DDT or Agent Orange of the oil spill.

The BP people have to fix this.  BP is cutting corners, minimizing the situation, and now here we are.  I fear the hoarders will take charge.  I fear BP will file for bankruptcy and will want the taxpayers to bail them out.  The American taxpayer will not bail out the oil companies.  I support the President for insisting BP put aside $20 billion to pay damages and cleanup costs.

I'm so glad that we in Maryland opposed offshore drilling.  No matter what is the energy policy I will always oppose offshore drilling off of the Mid-Atlantic coast.  We can never let what's happening in the Gulf happen to any other communities.

Our first responsibility will be to the nation's taxpayers, not to the oil companies.  Our second responsibility is to the people of the Gulf, to do all we can to protect them.  We need to make sure that we contain the oil and can clean it up so they can get on with their lives and their livelihoods.

I was honored to be able to go and represent Marylanders there because we are coastal people too.  When I talked to the people down there who fish and crab, we talked about how we use the same kind of bait, we use the same kind of line, the same kind of ways.  And when they held our hands, they said when you go back to Maryland and Washington, don't ever forget us.  And we won't.  We are all Americans, we are all coastal people, and we are all in this together.