Pomeroy Says President Made Important Points on BP, Should Call off EPA on Greenhouse Gases

Statement

Congressman Earl Pomeroy issued a statement on last night's presidential speech from the Oval Office.

"The President made some important points last night on the situation in the Gulf of Mexico. Right now, there is a cloud of oil spreading through the Gulf, and thousands of families are wondering what effect it is going to have on their livelihood. This tragic spill is threatening economic devastation for those who depend on the Gulf to make a living.

"It is absolutely critical that we hold BP accountable for the damage they have done. In North Dakota, if you make a mess, you take responsibility and clean it up. BP needs to do the same. I've been concerned about the reports that they were planning to start making billions of dollars' worth of payments to their shareholders, even while we try to marshal as many resources as we can to contain and clean up this spill. BP needs to make the citizens of the Gulf whole before they start paying stockholders, so I was pleased to see today they have agreed to put $20 billion aside for victims of the spill.

"The President also addressed how to improve our energy picture in the future. This is where he and I part ways on this topic. The President has advocated cap and trade legislation, that I believe would hurt North Dakota's energy industry at a time when we need to do everything we can to develop our domestic fuel sources. It is my hope that he abandons that proposal and pulls back the EPA in its efforts to unilaterally regulate greenhouse gas emissions. That will ensure North Dakota can take full potential of our coal, oil, wind and biomass energy resources."

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