Montana's Congressman, Denny Rehberg, has for the second time in as many days provided testimony at a House hearing addressing the oil spill in the Yellowstone River. Yesterday, Rehberg asked questions before the House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials. Today's hearing, "Pipeline Infrastructure and Community Protection Act," was before the House Subcommittee on Energy and Power, which is a part of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Rep. Rehberg testified as a witness at this second hearing.
"Montanans of all backgrounds have already come together in the Yellowstone Valley to clean up this mess," said Rehberg in his testimony. "ExxonMobil has hundreds of people on the ground, working closely with local, state and federal officials. And I'm told that they are joined by scores of regular Montanans who are volunteering their personal time to help clean up the spill. Maybe more than any testimony here, I think that speaks volumes about the urgency of this response. In Montana, when the chips are down, you don't wait for outside help. You role up your sleeves and join your neighbor on the front line."
Rehberg was invited to testify before the Subcommittee on Energy and Power, which is holding a series of hearings on "The American Energy Initiative." This particular hearing was focused on a Discussion Draft of the Pipeline Infrastructure and Community Protection Act of 2011.
"I appreciate the fast response from the Committee Chairman Fred Upton (MI-06) and the Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield (KY-01) in calling this hearing," said Rehberg. "As we learn what happened over the coming weeks, I have no doubt the U.S. House will continue to lead the way in implementing an appropriate and necessary response to prevent a disaster like this one from ever happening again."
Rehberg was joined on the stand in the first panel by Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA). The full list of witnesses is available here: http://energycommerce.house.gov/hearings/hearingdetail.aspx?NewsID=8786