Devastating Oil Spill

Floor Speech

Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, fishing has been barred from one-fifth of the Gulf of Mexico. That is 29 million acres off limits to the American citizens who rely upon the seafood industry to support their families. Globs of oil called ``tar balls'' have landed in the Florida Keys, a warning of the threats to Florida's vibrant tourism industry. The consequences of this devastating oil spill will not be felt by Democrats or Republicans, but by all Americans, and for years to come.

The oil spill cleanup could cost more than $14 billion; but today oil companies are required only to pay a measly $75 million toward those damages. For that reason, it is outrageous to see legislation forcing BP to pay for this mess fail once again on partisan lines.

Most shops have a long-recognized policy: you break it; you buy it. The same should apply to oil companies.

I urge my Republican colleagues to join a bipartisan effort protecting taxpayers from a massive bailout of the oil industry. It is time to worry less about oil company profits and more about the American people.

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