BILL BANS REVOLVING DOOR BETWEEN MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE (MMS) & OIL COMPANIES

Washington, Jul 2, 2010 -

"The oil spill in the Gulf is a growing environmental and economic disaster, and we must change the way the oil industry and federal regulators operate offshore," said Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Sixth).  "This legislation will hold oil companies more accountable for offshore spills and reform the federal oversight process to prevent future disasters off of our coasts."

Stearns has joined in sponsoring H.R. 5572, the Oil Spill Prevention Act.  Explained Stearns, "The U.S. Inspector General investigated the Minerals Management Service (MMS), the federal agency responsible for overseeing offshore oil production, and found a culture of corruption and carelessness where top MMS officials accepted money, gifts, drugs, and jobs from numerous oil companies.  This measure aims to reform federal oversight and to shut down the revolving door creating jobs between the industry and the regulators."

H.R. 5572 prevents conflicts of interest by separating the inspections office responsible for safety and environmental protection from the leasing office that collects revenues.  It also requires random drug testing, requires MMS employees to wait at least two years before working in the oil industry, mandates that missed inspections be rescheduled, and eliminates categorical exemptions from environmental requirements.