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[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> this is what hold this -- what will hold this in the underground coal mine. but this was not working in the disasters were a group of people, their spouses will never see them again because this was not working. and my question to you is what is the standard practice for testing the integrity of this seal? this seal that you evidently were talking about? >> i will qualify my answer by

reminding the chair man that i do not have a lot of expertise. >> you have said that you were an engineer. and this is impressive. >> i have a fundamental conclusion, that the oil is coming from a reservoir 13 feet below the bed of the ocean. 13,000 feet below, there should have been casing and cement. the only way for these carbons to go through that reservoir, 13,000 feet below, is to have experienced the failure of the casing or both. there are tests to confirm the integrity -- with the temperatures -- i am not familiar with the properties of this and the measurement, but i know that there will be tools out there to measure them. >> this does not answer my question.

i agree that they're out there. i accept that they are out there. what is the standard for this industry and what does this call for? did you practice this? the requirement for those services would have been a decision -- we do not provide those measurements. i cannot tell you the industry standard for those applications. >> i believe that the standard for the regulators is that the positive test is exerted on the casing, to see if this will hold. >> how was this done? >> you do this on the backside of the casing, and any pressure this up on the casing to see if everything is going to hold. this was holding 2350 psi.

and there was the other pressure test where you lower the pressure above the casing. and i believe -- i believe that there were two of these that were done, and the anomaly is associated with those tests. >> where these tests performed by -- by your company? >> i do not know. i would imagine that they were -- there were collaborative discussions about what was going on. >> in a coal mine, if the casing explodes, people will die. and i am -- i am not an engineer in petroleum or underwater activity. i have to assume that this was a

factor. >> the things that i know, there was a time after this pressure test, before the well exploded. and this is something that will be very important in the investigation. it takes several hours between those things to figure out what happened. and there are techniques to control the flow. this is when these things are happening. we do not have that and i do not know that. the investigation is going to get right into the middle of that. >> i am hoping that the investigation will have something to say about that. i think that this is so important, and i would like to know, on reflection or further questioning for the people in your company, or the people in

transition, what you concluded before the investigation. i will not be filing a lawsuit against you, i am trying to find out what is happening. >> we will share with you the conclusions that have been drawn. we can give that to this committee, as we know this. >> when this investigation is over? please do this. >> thank you. >> he would like to know what happens as well, so that this will never happen again, because the consequences of this failure could be coming to my state. given the fact that we have more coastline than any other state except for alaska, and we have more beaches than any other

state. and we have 85% of the coral reefs of the united states, including hawaii, and the islands in the pacific territories. i want to go back. i want to go back to why this mechanism failed. was there a dead battery that led to that fail-safe system that was supposed to drive those pieces of metal together, to cut this off? was there a dead battery? >> you are referring to some information that became available last week. the control system has two control parts on the stack, and we have retrieved one of them. we had the manufacturer there to

have an analysis and a review of the condition, and the preliminary measurements registered 18.41, against the maximum charge of 27 votes and a minimum, the manufacturers minimum recommended charge of 18 votes. on the preliminary measure, we have exceeded the minimum recommendation, and on the subsequent measurement, a more comprehensive measurement, we registered 26. the battery was not dead. >> if this is the case, the system that was supposed to work, is this referred to as the dead-man's safety mechanism? the human does not have to do this? >> as i have responded -- there was the system and in order for

this to trigger, there have to be three criteria. and during the course of what followed the explosion, we did not meet those criteria. the system was never in a situation where this should have responded and did not. >> what are those three criteria? >> electronic communication, hydraulic communication, and the electronic communication between these pods. >> we look forward to the conclusions of the investigation. i would like your opinion, if you can say the nature of the relationship between the interactions of the oil industry that you have observed and the

-- in the last dozen years. is this a personal relationship? or is this a professional relationship, in your opinion? >> i have not worked directly with them in the last 12 years. if you want my opinion, as a regulator, the relationship has been as a regulator. i would not say that this is cozy. this is an opinion. >> that is what i am asking. when you heard, about five or six years ago, about the sex parties between the regulators and members of the oil industry -- pot parties, and all the information that was out there, what was your opinion about the

relationship? >> i was surprised by that. >> was this shocking? >> i do not know enough about what happened. i was surprised that this happened. >> were you surprised that a regulator that is supposed to be collecting royalties and also charged with the safety of this kind of equipment that we are talking about, had such a cozy relationship that they are going off and having sex parties. this does not sound like the function of a regulator. thank you. >> sen. wicker? >> do you know if there was an attempt to activate this prevented?

>> i have heard reference that was made, the anecdotal reference that was made to the attempt to activate this before the crew finally left the oil rig. >> do you have any knowledge of this attempt? >> i would say -- i have heard the same thing that the emergencies which was struck before the evacuation, and we have made an attempt to manually intervene with this preventer to provide actual asian, and i believe that we have activated this switch, and we have been trying to effect this with remote-operated vehicles. we have been doing that in the first 10 days. >> so this may be -- there is something down there with a blowout preventer.

this is preventing this from, even today, kicking in. >> let me just -- let me delve into this. >> i do not believe that he is a doctor. >> we have the doctor -- this is unfortunate that you were not able to speak more about the history of the number of these things that have happened. do you agree with mr. newman, that in this instance, several things had to go wrong, independently, for this to happen? >> i do not feel that i have enough expertise on the printer to be able to comment on that. >> i appreciate that.

let me go into what you have observed in the other instances, with these oil spills? in particular, as we have heard from him -- the particles -- have you heard about this sort of thing happening before in connection with the oil spills? >> the skill that i spoke about briefly in the testimony -- >> this was in rhode island. what has happened there is that the oil was mixed into the water, and so, there was the sub-surface contamination, and this spread away from the coast. and those are the small droplets in the water, and there was the

talks a component in the water. and you have evaluated this oil spill, and documented that 9 billion lobsters were killed. >> this is the wave action, causing the oil not to stay on the surface. >> can you think of any reason that in the gulf of mexico, the instance -- that the oil would not come to the surface to cause this amount of particles that they have testified about? >> this has been injected down near the well head, where the oil is coming out. and i am just hearing this description. i have not seen this myself. this is being injected, hoping to disperse the oil in the deeper water, into smaller droplets.

if these are small enough, they will not come to the surface, because oil comes up in bigger droplets. but smaller, this is a mist of little droplets in the deep water. >> thank you very much. and let me just observe a couple of things. one thing that we have learned about the preventer -- this fail-safe, and the dead man preventer as a last resort, is that if the oil rig explosion, and it burns and it sinks, this catastrophic event does not trigger the blowout preventer. is this true? >> under the current configuration. as long as the red remains on

the surface, you could have had continuing hydraulic communication, with the raid. the dead man and not have functioned in that case. >> this is amazing, that as explosive as an oil rig may be, that something like this could happen. i have a procedural question. normally, the members are given a couple of weeks to submit answers. i do not know how long that we give to the witnesses to supply answers to those written questions. i would just ask the chair to consider shortening the time line, for the submission of questions, and to provide a time line within the rules.

that is what these witnesses to supply the requested answers on the record. >> the aspects to your question -- one of them is the promise of this, getting this as quickly as possible. and you want to make certain that this is accurate. and that they have sufficient time to give the accuracy, and this will allow for them to return, to the committee. and i would think, two weeks? i would suggest two weeks. is this ok? you have the final question. >> i just want to follow mr. newman. you were referring -- you are part of transition.

>> i am the chief executive officer. >> trans ocean is the operator of the oil rig, and the drilling. >> we are the owner of the drilling rig, and we lis the services to british petroleum under contract. >> who was on the oil rig that was operating at the time of the explosion? >> there are representatives out there, and directing the operation. >> and who has the responsibility for the operation? >> for the oil well? >> two is flipping the switch? >> the driller -- this is the transition individual who was operating the machinery. and because he has different measurements and feedback presented to him it would be his

responsibility to recognize abnormalities with respect to the oil well and make the decision about whether they would shut this in. >> at this case, who is this person? >> the man who was on shift was a gentleman -- >> is he employed? >> he was killed in the incident. he was an employee of transition. >> were there any other people that survived -- that also had, as part of their duties, to flip the switch and activate the blowout preventer? >> this is a difficult question to answer. it is their responsibility to shut the well in.

there is an individual there, and he is the supervisor. a gentleman that we call the pusher, and because he is the supervisor he is there to back- up and he is an individual that, traditionally, he would come from the ranks so he would be experienced at drilling, and he would recognize the signs and the signals, and the challenge is that he has a lot -- he has other responsibilities and he may or may not be on the floor at the time, and he may or may not be near a panel. >> did he survive? >> we lost one of them as well. >> two people and you have no indication about whether they flipped the switch. was there any other person on

the rate that has stated that they flipped the switch. >> i have heard reference being made to the emergency disconnect button, and this is one of the buttons in the control panel. just prior to the evacuation from the oil rig. >> why have you just heard it -- why do you not know by somebody telling you that they turned the switch? >> i have not had those conversations myself. i have been focused, first and foremost, on the nine families who lost these employees and i have been focused on making certain that the company was organized to support the recovery effort. >> you are the ceo. are you responsible for the

executive management of your company? and then the question is, did one of these employees turn the switch? >> i have an account -- i am aware of an account of an individual who indicates that prior to leaving, they touched this button. i have not spoken directly to any of them. >> why is this question so difficult that answer? you are the ceo. you should know what has happened in your company. was there someone in your company who turned this switch? this is a simple question among the people that actually live -- >> i do not know, definitively, and this is clearly part of the investigation process.

>> i am at a loss to understand why the witness cannot answer this question. i would ask that you offer the question in writing for them to respond. >> this will be done. >> this concludes the hearing. let me say that i thank all three of you for spending this time and i believe that -- that when the record of these hours is produced, there will be a lot of information. some of this will be new, and there will also be a lack of a lot of information. all this is needed. the investigation is important. and as i conclude this hearing, there will be more of them. i am just overwhelmed by the

magnitude of what went wrong, and the consequences, as yet, i known to affect so many americans. and so much of our economy and wildlife, and all the rest. i respect you for staying the course with us, and i respect you very much. this hearing is adjourned.

>> today on "washington journal "we have more on the oil spill from john mica. we will talk about the economy and jobs with peter defazio. and peter deshazo will take your questions about the u.s.-mexico relations. this is live every day at 7:00 eastern. >> clarence thomas will talk about the confirmation process. >> i did not have a good experience of there. and i do not wish that on anybody. and also, something that was said when i first got here and stayed with me. it does not matter how you got

here. what matters is what you do after you have gotten here. >> with a new nominee going into the confirmation process, learn more about the highest court, in the latest book from c-span, "the supreme court." providing unique insight, and available in hardcover. >> a republican congressman from indiana admitted to an affair with a staff member and denounced his resignation. >> it is with great regret that i announce that i am is resigning from the house of representatives, and resigning as republican nominee in the fall election. i apologize for the people of

indiana and our country. i will submit this on this friday. i never think all the people who supported me in eight primaries and general election. can you really feel -- it has been an honor to be part -- to be fighting for the needs and the future of this region, where my family has lived for over 106 years.

it has been all-consuming for me to do this job well. with the costly, competitive election every two years. i did not have any sort of normal life. families and friends, church, and opportunity. to serve has been a blessing. this is a responsibility from god. i have committed a sin against god, and my family, by having a relationship with the member of my staff. in washington, this is twisted for political gain, and i will

put my family out of the process -- the political price to pay, and the personal price for my family is not worth this. we are committed family. i will bear the responsibility. i am tired of politicians who bring their spouses in front of the cameras, rather than confronting the problems that they have caused. not only am i thankful for loving family, my comfort is that god is gracious and forgiving. who knows his forgiveness as i do -- and josiah so ashamed to

have hurt the people that i love. i am so sorry to have let so many people down, people who have been fighting so hard for me. america will survive and thrive in those values, but the causes greater than any of the people. this is based -- by stepping aside this cannot be used in -- as a political football, to undermine the cause that i have labored for my entire adult life. this is my home. and it has been such an honor to serve you. for 16 years, -- the toll has been very high, and my plans are focused on repairing my

marriage and continuing my walk with god. i only ask you that you should respect the privacy in this time. and i have no further comments. >> in connecticut, richard blumenthal says that he misspoke about his service during the vietnam war. he did not officially apologize for these statements about being featured in combat. this was the center of the story in the "new york times." they spoke at a veterans affairs office in connecticut for about 25 minutes. >> good afternoon.

i am a veteran of the marine corps, former marine, and members of a detachment into great britain, and the department of connecticut, and thank you for joining us here today. i am here because i did not want these charges against my good friend go unanswered. [applause] i met him in 1996, before i joined, and back then, he was supporting senior citizens helping us not to be taken by scams and this was all in the front. and i noticed everything that he

was doing for the veterans. i was more than impressed -- it touched my heart because everything that we did at the functions -- the homecoming with a sendoff, what does a storm and iraq and afghanistan, he would be there. he always had something to say and he was always there. he spoke to all of the veterans. and excuse me for being sentimental. this man has been in my heart ever since i have been in connecticut. [applause] i have been honored to stand with him at dozens of gatherings throughout the years. i have been there at funerals and homecomings, sendoff, and

in 2008 and 2009, we had a man who died in iraq, who dedicated this in his honor, and he came out in the rain and he spoke for four or five minutes. i was with his wife -- and we owe you a debt of gratitude. the sincerity is always in his heart, with the heart of all of his brothers and all veterans, in this room and throughout the nation. through these hardest times, he has always been there for us. he has not just been standing for the veterans and their families for years. as long has it -- as long as he has stood with us, joining us and our families, he has always

been completely straightforward about his honorable service in the marine corps reserve. maybe 100 different things i have seen him speaking -- and the talks about his proud service in the united states marine corps, with the transport units. he spoke about the reserve unit in the states, and he said that he was proud to be with motor transport, because they had spent two tours in vietnam. and he was standing up for the rights of the veterans. it is outrageous to attack him on one misquote. after hearing him speak as many times, and i am little bit redundant. i can see how this would have been misunderstood. i only speak a few times throughout the year, and he

speaks dozens upon dozens of times. and to say he is in vietnam -- this was during vietnam. >> he was wanting the message to go out there that the veterans are not treated -- were not treated when they return, and he is wanting us to honor and support the veterans who are here today, yesterday, and in the future. i just want to say that he has always stood by us, and we are proud to stand with him. i would now like to hand over the microphone to a friend of mine. they actually brought -- they

actually were in the war and has been helping us to bring this -- from october 2008. [applause] >> i am the chairperson for the conn vietnam veterans memorial. i am also the sister of a combat medic, who died in vietnam in 1965. i have known this man for many years. i have attended many functions where he has been the speaker. we have gone to homecomings, and

we have been at memorial services, and we have been at funerals. he has supported me through the creation of the kinetic vietnam veterans memorial. and i have heard him speak many times. of his service in the marine reserves. and in all this time, i never once heard him say that he was in vietnam. i did hear him say how passionately he felt about the veterans, and how we had to honor them and never let happen again what happened to the vietnam veterans when they returned home. that is what he has always done.

there is not a nicer and more honorable and more responsible advocate for the vietnam veterans, and the veterans in general, then this man. >> thank you very much. thank you to the people who are here today, and many of them who are with us off the stage. i could not be more proud than to be with you today, because i am always going to be with you. i've volunteered to join the united states marine corps reserve 40 years ago. i left my job worksheet -- working for patrick moynihan at

the white house, and the midnight, i got on a bus, and i went to boot camp at parris island. do you want to know how i got into the reserve? i look them up in a phone book. there was no special privilege. i joined the reserves by picking up the telephone and signing up. unlike many of the others -- i chose to join the military to serve my country. [applause] and as i joined the united states marine corps reserve, i was stationed at parris island, and then i served a six-year commitment. i was able to reach the rank of sergeant, and i was honorably discharged. i am proud of my service in the

united states. -- the united states marine corps. i am it more proud that my eldest son, matthew, is serving in the united states marine corps reserve. i am just one of thousands of people across connecticut, and across the country who served in the national guard, or the reserve, or on active duty. and thousands of members of the national guard, and the reserves of us -- they are now serving and sacrificing a brought in iraq and afghanistan. and throughout my time in public service, i have been proud to stand up for the veterans at all

branches of the military. i am proud of the veterans who are staying with me today -- standing with me today. i have attended dozens of military events every year, and they know that i routinely describe my pride in having served in the united states marine corps reserve? . vietnam. -- in the united states marine corps reserve during vietnam. there were men and women who never came back, and those who returned, only to be ignored by the government that sent them there. the veterans who are with me today also know that i believe that the nation must do better, to keep faith with the veterans, and they have heard

me, standing up for justice and fairness to the veterans, and for a program that is known as no veteran left behind. and on a few occasions, i have misspoken about my service. and i regret that. and i take full responsibility. but i will not allow -- i will not allow anyone to take a few words to talk about my record of service to the country. [applause] i served in the united states marine corps and i am very proud of this. thank you.

i am happy to take questions. >> how do you address these charges that you have been lying? >> i did miss speak on a few occasions, out of hundreds that i have attended, whether this was an event or a ceremony, and i will not allow anyone to take a few of those misplaced words, and to impugn my record of service. i regret that i misspoke on those occasions, and i will take full responsibility. but i will continue to fight for the veterans, because they have been disrespected and when theyn vietnam, and returned to this country. and i will continue to fight for

this cause because they are individuals who have given so much, asking for so little. and they deserve some much more. >> how were you able to do this by looking this up in the phone book. was it really that easy, to call them up? >> let me tell you this. there were waiting lists for the navy and the army, and other branches in washington. the marine corps recruiter told me that he could put me on a bus the next morning. >> did you know where you were going from? >> there were no special favors, there were no privilege is involved in going to paris

island, the basic training in the united states marine corps. >> did you know that you would not be deployed to vietnam? >> there was no knowing, with certainty, or anyone was going to be deployed. as this happened, some years later -- within a very few years, the united states made different decisions about vietnam. >> was this intentional misspeaking? >> this was absolutely unintentional, with misplaced words, in instead of during. >> this is clear, today, why was

this not clear back then? what was going through your mind? >> i was not aware of these when they were spoken. and i was unaware of anyone taking note of them, and only when they were brought to my attention, recently, did i know about them. >> there have been a number of articles written where reporters said that you were serving in the vietnam war. why did you not correct the record? >> there were a few articles, but not many. i am responsible for my own statement. and for any of my misplace words. and i cannot be responsible for any of the articles. i may have not seen them. i know that i am not speaking

about anyone in this room, but journalists can make mistakes. i am responsible for my mistakes, but i cannot be held responsible for the other mistakes. >> you said that you hope people an apology for having spoken? >> i regret that i have misspoken, and i take total responsibility. >> [inaudible]

>> i believe i understand your question. in recent years -- [unintelligible] >> what ever his impressions may be, i can tell you that i am is speaking, routinely, about my service during vietnam, to highlight that we dishonored and is respected our military men and women, during that time. and we must do better. we have learned an important lesson, ever since those years.

and this is a lesson i will highlight again and again, mentioning my own service as a way of doing this. we of the men and women of the military unconditional support, when they are in the service and when they return to civilian life. i have mentioned my own military service, with that message in mind, and this message has become more important because of the conflict in iraq and afghanistan, has wounded warriors are returning to this country. and this is because these veterans -- they are coming back without job opportunities and training. i am adamant on this topic. i become more and more unhappy about the way that this country

feels with their veterans. and i continued to be and always will be an advocate. >> you said that the new york times article was an outrageous distortion. how, exactly, would you describe this article? >> two things are worth mentioning. there is virtually no mention in that article of the six years that i spent in the reserve. and the article did a great service in the reserves. and thirdly, this implies that there was some kind of special favor involved in the entering the reserves. this is completely untrue.

i believe that i have responded to your question. >> in terms of the number of deferments, is this unusual? is this an -- an unusual number for someone? >> if you know the way that the draft boards are working, generally the person under review may not even be aware of the number of deferments. i do not know if this is unusual or not. and i will tell you that in my view, my choices were the results of opportunities available. i notified them with every change in circumstance, if this was harvard college, working in the white house, and in listing, and what they had done to the fermi, how many that they granted was really their decision.

>> can you talk about the role of the campaign in all of this? >> why is this coming out at this time? >> i think the timing speaks for itself, and her campaign, with the role of this. i will leave this to you to make your judgment. >> why did you want to join the reserves? >> many people were making different choices. some people decided not to serve, and i could have continued in the white house. i wanted to move on with my life and serve the country. i am happy that i made this decision, reaching the rank of sergeant. [applause]

>> primary elections resulted in the defeat of arlen specter from pennsylvania, and another incumbent, blanche lincoln, was forced into a runoff. you'll hear from her, followed by the primary winner in kentucky. then arlen specter and the pennsylvania primary winner. you can call in with your thoughts about the election results on "washington journal." this is at 7:00 eastern. a couple of live events to tell

you about on c-span. we will have a hearing on the gulf of mexico oil spill, and the witnesses will include the whole -- the head of british petroleum america, lisa jackson, and the head of the minute -- the mineral managers service. the coverage will begin at 6:30 eastern, with his arrival at the white house, followed by the two presidents. >> clarence thomas, on the confirmation process. >> i did not have of bond experience up there, and i do not wish that on anybody. and also, something that just in what -- just -- justice white

said to me. it does not matter how you got here. all that matters is what you do after you are there. >> with a new nominee going into the confirmation process, learn more about the highest court in the latest book from c-span, the supreme court. candid conversations that provide a unique insights about the court. available in hardcover. >> blanche lincoln will be in a runoff in three weeks. neither she nor the major opponent, lt. gov. bill holter, had more than half of the votes. she spoke to her supporters afterward. [applause]

>> thank you. i cannot thank you enough. you have been so wonderful during this campaign season. do we have a great attorney general, or what? [applause] i am looking across this room and i see people from northwest arkansas back there, people from eastern arkansas, north and central, all over this great state. i am so happy that you are here tonight. you have this exactly right. he thought people were going to write but -- write all of us off. but they have another thing coming. they have another think coming. my humble appreciation goes out to the democratic voters of

arkansas, who recognize that this campaign is not about the outside groups, who were trying, desperately, to exert their influence here. in the end, this is about us. this is about you and me, and this is not about the outside groups, or who they are. this is about all of us, as arkansans. and the people of arkansas have spoken. the people of arkansas have spoken. we are wanting to control our own destiny. just one month ago, they said -- they were going to write us off, but we have proven that we cannot be written off, and we are not going to be. we are going to begin the countdown to victory.

thank you. i want to thank all of you who are here tonight. i also want to thank morrison, for running a respectable and honest campaign. and i also want to congratulate bill halter for his position in the runoff and that will compete with them over the next three weeks. the next three weeks are going to prove us right. and i know that you and your families have been subjected to the same thing that me and my family have been subjected to. we have seen way too many negative advertisements in arkansas. before we go into the next phase of this campaign, i want to call