No Word From The Federal Government On The Gulf Coast Oil Spill

Floor Speech

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Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, last week, our committee on Energy and Commerce, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, held the first of what is likely to be many hearings into the events going on in the Gulf of Mexico. So far, the hearings and investigation have been decidedly ``asymmetric.'' My committee demanded and obtained thousands of pages of documents and testimony from the four companies involved in the spill, but virtually nothing--nothing--from the administration. In fact, my committee made no document requests and asked for no testimony from the administration.

The Federal role would appear to be an integral part of this story. We should have representatives from the Department of Interior and the Minerals Management Service explain why in March of 2009, in the Initial Exploration Plans for Deepwater Horizon, a blowout scenario was simply not contemplated, and why the Department of Interior did not require a site-specific oil spill response plan.

We've had no word from the Federal Government and related agencies. When will the administration begin to work with Congress, rather than against Congress and against the American people?

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