bromwich? >> thank you, chairman issa, ranking member cummings and members to the committee i'm happy to be here in response to your invitation and to discuss the activities of the bureau of ocean energy management regulation and enforcement following the deepwater horizon oil spill in the gulf of mexico. these activities include putting in place strengthened safety measures and regulatory reforms relating to reviewing and approving exploration and development plans and applications for permits to drill. those measures and the many other steps we have taken over the past year have been part of our response to deepwater horizon and its aftermath. but as you know, aside from one grant program my agency is not directly involved in gulf coast recovery efforts nor do we work with bp on its recovery efforts. to the extent that the issues, the committee is exploring today extends beyond my agency's jurisdiction, i will take those questions back to the department of the interior to other agencies. at b

bromwich. these activities include putting in place strengthened safety measures and regulatory reforms relating to reviews applications plans and permits to drill. those measures and the many other steps we have taken over the past year has been part of the response to deepwater horizon and aftermath. as you know, my agency is not directly involved in gulf coast recovery efforts, nor do we work with bp. it's beyond the jurisdiction, i will take it back to the department of interior to other agency. at boemre we have devoted efforts to put in place standards for safety and responsible in our offshore development program. our aggressive reforms and oversight are the most extensive in the united states history. these reforms strengthen requirements for everything from well design and workplace safety to corporate accountability and are helping to ensure that the u.s. can safely and responsibility expand development of our energy resources. over the past year, multiple reviews and investigations h

bromwich, during the first panel, simply enforcing existing rules would prevent future oil spills. when the national commission issued its report, did it say that simply enforcing existing regulations would be sufficient? >> no. >> what did it say? >> it pointed to a series of the injured and causes to the oil spill, a variety of human error committed by personnel from bp, transocean, halliburton, etc. it specifically said that enforcing existing regulations would not have prevented the oil spill. >> are there improvements in the regulatory framework and enforcement that could be helpful? >> yes. we have taken many of those steps. our drilling safety role that is addressed to well-designed, well casing and blowout preventers a substantially reduces the risk of another spell like depp -- spill like deepwater horizon. we will never be able to reduce it to zero, we will law. but we have been able to reduce overtime. the regulatory process needs to keep up. i felt -- i hope we can further reduce the process. >> one of the arguments made by governor barber and others is that we have 31,

bromwich. in considering plans and permits, how much the of the that the economic impact and the loss of economic activity in considering the process by which your agency goes through? >> the individual plans and permits are reviewed by our field personnel in the gulf of mexico. i have no role in that. i do not think it would be appropriate for them to scrutinize plan applications are permit applications for any reason whether to determine whether or not they are complying with the applicable regulations. they do not come and they should not. >> so they do not? >> someone inspecting plans and permits should not do that. i want to move to mr. keith. thank you for coming. can you describe to mean very quickly the type of company you have than the average employee that you have? the kind of individual that you represent? >> we are in the tug boat business. we move drilling rigs for a a living. 80% of our employees are sailors. they are ordinary engineers, captains, mates, and the rest of the 20% o

let me also welcome michael bromwich from the department of interior. mr.romwich, you agreed to be here with incredibly short notice, so we thank you very much for your testimony and for your expertise. finally, let me welcome the residents of the gulf who have traveled here today to share their views with the committee. earlier this year the national commission on the bp deepwater horizon oil spill issued a comprehensive report on the causes of the spill. the report found that this disaster was avoidable and that it resulted from clear mistakes made in the first instance by bp, halliburton and transocean. and by government officials. these were extremely difficult lessons to learn. now, more than a year later, officials in both the oil industry and our government appear to be heeding these lessons and retooling the way they do business. first, we must never, ever forget that 11 individuals lost their lives in an explosion on april 20th. to address deficiencies that contributed to these deaths, the interior department issued an improved workplace safety rul

let me also welcome michael bromwich from the department of interior. mr.d to be here with incredibly short notice, so we thank you very much for your testimony and for your expertise. finally, let me welcome the residents of the gulf who have traveled here today to share their views with the committee. earlier this year the national commission on the bp deepwater horizon oil spill issued a comprehensive report on the causes of the spill. the report found that this disaster was avoidable and that it resulted from clear mistakes made in the first instance by bp, halliburton and transocean. and by government officials. these were extremely difficult lessons to learn. now, more than a year later, officials in both the oil industry and our government appear to be heeding these lessons and retooling the way they do business. first, we must never, ever forget that 11 individuals lost their lives in an explosion on april 20th. to address deficiencies that contributed to these deaths, the interior department issued an improved workplace safety rule that many, inclu