were you aware of halliburton's warning? what i want to know is, you, in your position, has anyone understaffed 32 about held burton warner company it could have a severe f-bomb -- about halliburton warning it could have a severe incident? a bp official who recognized the risk of proceeding for caution to the went in an e-mail just four days before the disaster, stating who cares, it is done, in the of story. did you know about that email? >> i had no prior knowledge prior to the incident whatsoever. >> in light of what your peers have said, dealing with safety, being with the precautions with the pressure test reading, and dealing with halliburton, don't you think there is reckless behavior indication? if what i told you is true, did you think bp had reckless behavior? >> i believe all accidents are preventable. the investigation will determine how this accident occurred. >> you are saying based upon all the information i gave you, you do not think bp at any reckless behavior. that is your position this afternoon, is that c

halliburton was involved. trans ocean, bp. bp actually is the responsible party. although trans ocean was the company that was drilling. i believe halliburton was the company that was doing certain things on that raid. -- rig. i do not know exactly who the responsible parties. bp is ultimately responsible but an investigation will determine who did what in some great detail, largely because there is a criminal investigation. largely we will understand who did what. host: republican for senator dorgan. good morning. caller: how are you all doing? i was wondering because i have been seeing how they have been trying to cap this well off and they have been using these types of methods to cap it off. i was wondering whyythey didn't do something -- just a simple procedure that you do to plug pipes off. if it is just one major league and they cut the pipe or it is square, i did not understand why they did not design some kind of gigantic what they call plumber's plug which basically has a pipe in the center and then it has thread on it and you basically squeeze robert to

bp was warned by halliburton could have a big problem if they -- bp rejected halliburton's advice to used additional centralizers in an e-mail on april 16. a bp official involved in the decision explained and i quote, it will take ten hours to install them, i don't like this. bp chose not to fully circulate the mud in the well from the bottom to the top, which was an industry recommended best practice that would have allowed them to test for gas in the mud. bp chose not to use a casing hangar lockdown sleeve which would have provided extra protection against a blowout from below. these are just a few of the issues that led to the disaster. once deep water horizon exploded and san to be the bottom of the sea, bp's decision to clean up the spill was equally as poor. they issued estimates which may have led to a scaled back response. we discovered that bp's oil spill response plan was virtually identical to other oil companies' plans, in a hearing tuesday, exxonmobil ceo rex tillerson said that once the spills occur, we're not equipped to handle them, end quote. our witness today mr. to

bp was warned by halliburton could have a big problem if they -- bpejected halliburton's advice to used additional centralizers in an e-mail on april 16. a bp official involved in the decision explained and i quote, it will take ten hours to install them, i don't like this. bp chose not to fully circulate the mud in the well from the bottom to the top, which was an industry recommended best practicehat would have allowed them to test for gas in the mud. bp chose not to use a casing hangar lockdown sleeve which would have provided extra protection against a blowout from below. these are just a few of the issues that led to the disaster. once deep water horizon eloded and san to be the bottom of the sea, bp's decision to clean up the spill was equally as poor. they issued estimates which may have led to a scaled back response. we discovered that bp's oil spill response plan was virtually identical to other oil companies' plans, in a hearing tuesday, exxonmobil ceo rex tillerson said that once the spills occur, we're not equipped to handle them, end quote. our witness today mr. tony haywar

but cheney did run halliburton before he became vice president and halliburton certainly benefitted fromhe lax laws, and basically the cops were taken off the beat. instead they were in the station sleeping. so what we need to do is put those cops back on the beat. host: an op ed in the "wall street journal" the gulf spill in alaska and points to npra a 20-million acre slope set aside by warren harding for the specific purpose of supplying our country and military with oil and gas and says the army corps of engineers has put up another bureaucratic hurdle to postpone drilling there and says an appeal for this. if we are not satisfied we will pursue other means including sueing the federal government so it does not make arbitrary decisions at the expense of state sovereignty and wise energy policy. what is npra and should there be drilling this? >> it's the petroleum reserve in some of the most fragile territory that exists in this country. guest: and a big oil spill there would devastate an vifmente that would probably never recover. there's particular areas there, lakes that are particu

i did not get a bit of information that date from yourself, transocean, halliburton, and others. i learned a lot more from the ladies talking about the phone calls that they had with their husbands, phone calls, when they came home for visits. there seemed to be a lot of concern about things that are happening on the rig. have any of you work on a rig? >> not a deep water rig, but i have worked on rigs during my career. >> it is that unusual? i go home and complain about mr. markey a lot. [laughter] it is that usual to have that level of anxiety that these people were sharing with their wives about the safety conditions on those offshore rigs? >> congressman, i have not looked at their testimony in detail, so i cannot comment directly to that. there were clearly things going on at this well in the days and hours prior to the loss of control. we are interested to understand and it is not completed this point. i cannot really say. well control is part of drilling. you're trying to drill into the forces of mother nature and hold that back in a controlled fashion until you can secure

halliburton warned of a problem. these warnings fell on deaf ears. it may be best summed up in an e-mail from its operations drilling engineer, who oversaw bp's dream of drilling engineers. after learning of the risks and bp's decision to ignore them, he wrote, "who cares? it's done, end of story. we will probably be fine." there is a complete contradiction between bp's words and deeds. you were brought in to make safety the top priority of bp. but under your leadership, bp has taken the most extreme risks. bp cut corner after corner to save $1 million here, a few hours or days there, and now the whole gulf coast is paying the price. today et cetera hearing will focus on bp's action, but we learned from the hearing earlier this week that the other oil companies are just as unprepared to deal with a massive spill as bp. we are seeing in the oil industry the same corporate indifference to risk that caused the collapse on wall street. and that is why reform is so urgently needed. part of this reform must be legislation to put teeth into our regulatory s

the facts are clear that you hire halliburton to give you advice about this. an expert in the field did an analysis. it said you needed 21 centralizes to make sure the rig was safe. the american petroleum institute recommended practice says, "if casing is not centralized, it may lay near the bore hole wall. it is difficult if not impossible to displace met from the narrow side of casing is poorly centralized. this results in bypassed mud channels and inability to receive zonal isolation." the experts say you need 21. if we can put up the first slide. a bp employee wrote and said we only get six. we do not have time to deal with this problem. time to british petroleum was money. this rig was 45 days late. it cost you $500,000 per day. so what happened then? another british petroleum person sent a memorandum saying that we need to follow the model. he kicked it up to mr. guide. i do notback and said, like the fact this will take 10 hours to do. another person said we will fly 15 things in. they can be here tomorrow morning. he said, i do not like the 10 hours. a

bp, plus transocean which is operating the rig, plus halliburton which is operating some of the equipmentthe rig, plus the operators on the rig some seem to have not acted properly. that's not an issue. i don't question that and liability will be enormous. whether or not stephanie miller knows there is criminal liability. i have my doults abobts about t. we should be abiding by the constitution. why didn't the president call congress into session, getting a law pass deed manned demanding w fund. nowhere in the constitution does it give the president the power to strong arm -- >> larry: can the president demand something? >> he can demand anything he wants. he can demand anything he wants. >> larry: could have refused? >> because public relations climate makes it impossible to refuse. he can shake them down. >> that's called capitalism. >> no, that's not capitalism. that's not capitalism. absolutely not capitalism. >> that is a big bully. >> larry: one at a time or no one is heard. mark? >> hayward did not get religion this morning or yesterday. companies don't act out of feeling, they act

had three times as many as a company like shell that had about 80 infractions and a company like halliburton only had 7. >> ifill: is there a culture in b.p. that brings this about? >> well, that's what we've looking at. we started looking into their past actions and trying to see if it shed any light on what's happening now in the gulf. we found a very consistent pattern going back 11 years according to our investigation where b.p. especially up in al as ka but in operations across the country fell behind on its maintenance, skipped maintenance in some cases often to save money and didn't encourage feedback from workers who would serve as a first line of defense in alerting company to problems with its equipment. when workers did complain or did cite safety situation or a pipeline, for example, they were often harassed or a message was sent that their complaints weren't welcome. in many cases they lost their jobs. this is documented by b.p. in a series of internal reports consistently in 2000 and 2001, 2004, 2007 and i'm still hearing reports that are very similar today. >> ifill: if there

halliburton and transocean were out there. they have yet to be determined as far as wrongful conduct or liability. we're looking at all that now. with regard to this fund, whatever it is, it's got to have an escape clause so that if the damages escalate beyond that point, remember, that's about one year's earnings, one year's annual profit for bp. that's the relatively of what we're talking about. they earn $17 billion last year. might do a little better than that this year. we're talking about a year's worth of profit. but we're talking about a generation's worth of damages, maybe a legacy that will invade the next generation. we're talking about monumental potential damages. am i comfortable with any type of cap? absolutely not. >> suarez: professor farber, this is a situation with a very large number of claimants, so far an undetermined amount of damage. in many cases like this, the litigation is... has taken so long that original company doesn't even exist any more by the time all the lawsuits are wrapped. do you have to c

halliburton warned the decisions could lead to serious problem and now people are losing their jobs. they could have been prevented if bmplt p had not chosen exped yensy over say. which brings my next point. whether it's the fire where 15 people died, time after time, it's shown that bp chooses exped yensy over samplt yet, mr. hayward, in your testimony you write, none of us knows why it happened. yet this subcommittee uncovered five air years where bp made mistakes. i add up the hours that these extra precautionary actions would have taken and it comes to be to about three to four day that's assuming many of tse actions would not have occurred simultaneously, which they could have. for an extra three days of work, men's lives would have been sarchd an industry record of safety and responsible production would still be in place which brings me to my last point. in your testimony, mr. hayward, you say this incident kaul $into question whether the oil and gas industry did explore for oil and gas in safer more reliable ways and what the appropriate regulatory framework for the industry

during the hearings we learned that bp, trans ocean, and halliburton failed to address various issues with the rig, well, and love for mentor. bp and trans ocean failed to prevent her was completely operational. bp and halliburton failed to identify discrepancies and pressure tests were done during the cementing of the well. subsequently they briefed our committee on the progress of their internal investigation, reporting concerns over proper procedures being followed a critical times prior to end on the day of the explosion. as a result each day 12,000 barrels of oil are leaking into the gulf coast, threatening beaches and critical wetland habitats. officials said that under a worst-case scenario the spill could reach as much as 2.5 million gallons. several attempts by bp to stop the flow of oil have proven unsuccessful. no one knows the full extent of the damage to the gulf coast region. it may be ssveral yyars before written quantify the full iipact. here is what we know -- it may be several years before we can quantify the full impact. here's what we know. ccosed representing sign

mms did not have an inspector on the rig to settle the arguments between bp, trans ocean, and halliburton officials on how they would stop drilling and plugged the well. mms did not have and did not require the industry to have emergency equipment stationed in the gulf of mexico that could respond immediately to an emergency. mms did not have a plan for responding to disasters, and mms did not have a real inspection and compliance program. it relied on the expertise and advice of the industry on how and how much they should be inspected. mr. secretary, i understand that you intend to reimpose the moratorium on new drilling in deaths of more than 500 feet that was set aside depths of more than 500 peakfeet. some may not have adequate safety equipment, backup technology, or sufficiently trained personnel this is deeply troubling. i want you to know that i fully support the moratorium and hope you do reimpose it as quickly as possible. the last 64 days have clearly demonstrated that the technology in use for deep water drilling is not sufficient to prevent or stop environmental disasters. pr

we already know that bp, transocean and halliburton failed to meet important safety standards.dertook risky drilling without a proper degree of care 5,000 feet below the surface of the gulf, 18,000 feet to the oil res vary among methane hydrate deposits that are highly dangerous when they get inside the drill column. they were irresponsible. the result was tragedy. sadly, key regulatory agencies also appear to have been asleep at the switch, sherking their responsibilities to protect our oceans and american workers at sea. i am convinced that something was fundamentally amiss at the minerals management service at the department of interior. i stronglily suspect that mms had long since been captured by the oil industry and had ceased to serve the public interest. regulatory agencies even when functioning properly never have been america's sole line of defense against disasters. we also should make sure it is in a corporation's clear economic interests to adhere scrupulously to the law. meaningful, civil and cal fines and damages are one crucial tool for ensuring that a corporati

the only way to get the information we all need from b.p., transocean, halliburton and other private entities is for the commission to have the power to compel its disclosure. the commission just won't be able to do its work without complete access to the information it needs. so passing this bill is the appropriate and the responsible thing to do. it's also consistent with federal commission and investigations that followed previous disaster, such as that on three-mile island. madam speaker, the people of the gulf of mexico and the nation deserve an speculation for all the circumstances and the decisions that led up to this disaster. only a comprehensive independent review with subpoena power will ensure the necessary lessons be learned, practices changed and future disasters averted. so i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important legislation. subpoena power is critical to hold all the parties accountable, protect taxpayers and successfully clean up the disaster in the gulf. and i yield back to the chairman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california yi

host: concern over the iraq war about halliburton and other agencies like that, are there concerns in the intelligence field about contractors doing work? guest: in ny of these activities, there is a limit that you can ask these contractors to do. you really want someone who is in the full-time chain of command. on the other hand, if you have analytic, logistical work that needs to be done, they can be done full well by contractors. host: and michael in louisiana. go ahead. caller: can you hear me? my question is, after 9/11, some of bin laden's family members were in the u.s. who allowed them to leave the country? was there a focus for them to leave the country? guest: at the time that that happened i was ambassador of the united nations. i was not directly involved in that matter. what i remember it is there were a number of his family members who are themselves against what he has done, that had prominent positions in their country. not everybody in his family has the same ideas about the world, the same agenda. host: mr. negroponte served as ambassaaor to mexico, the philippines,

we already know that b.p., trance ocean and halliburton failed to meet important safety standards. they undertook risky drilling without a proper degree of care, 5,000 feet below the surface of the gulf, 18,000 feet to the oilres. vaw, among meth thain deposits that are dangerous. they were irresponsible, the result was tragedy. sadly, key regulatory agencies also appear to have been asleep at the switch, shirking their responsibilities to protect our oceans and american workers at sea. i am convinced that something was fundamentally amiss at the mineral management service at the department of the interior. i strongly suspect that m.m.s. had long since been captured by the oil industry and ceased to serve the public interest. but regulatory agencies, even when functioning properly, never have been america's sole line of defense against disasters. we also should make sure it is in a corporation's clear economic interests to adhere scrupulously to the law. meaningful civil and criminal fines and damages are are one crucial tool for ensuring that a corporation takes proper precautions

we are seeing many corporations being given more buses including halliburton.plause] after evidence that it had defrauded the american taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars in iran, they were there cementing the well in the gulf. this is what normally happens in third world banana republics. incompetents and corruption are rewarded. it is clear that hope is not enough. what we need is hope 2.0 which means taking matters into our own hands. if the government is not going to shrink the big banks and a taxpayer will remain on call, we can't change that and take our money out of the big banks and put them into community banks and credit unions. it has been happening. [applause] 2 million people have moved their money. $5 billion has been moved from the big banks. if you are running a union or you know people who run unions, have them move their money. if you run a state or a city or county, have them move their money. they will understand that. that is how we will change the world, one action at a time. let me wrap things up. i am getting all might signs here. [

i am upset that c-span and the media have nnt informed us about blackwater, and halliburton, and who they really are and where the tentacles go. a funny thing happened here on long island that shows you where the station is headed. i read somewhere that grummond, a big contractor here, helped to build the space shuttle. they just received a huge contract to build these huge bllimps that will be flying over afghanistan and pakistan. much like the drones, but from a different altitude. they will not be ready for two years. the blooms will not be ready for another two years. so, if you think your sons and daughters are coming down any time soon, if you think there are not people who want americans to stay and die, and be in the middle east, think again. host: let's look at an ap story from washington. the top u.s. commander has been summoned to washington to explain his controversial comments about colleagues in a recent interview. the official said that general stanley mcchrystal who has since issued an apology for comments, has been directed to attend the monthly white house meeting i

monday, halliburton said they did not do a cement right. i do not know the complete information. that is what the hearings are about. some have taken place. some have taken place on location down there, on site. some have been here. we have a responsibility of oversight. we must move quickly. we do want to give comfort to the families that they will be taking care of. -- taken care of. it is very important to act. we cannot act without the facts. some people have been tradittonally republican. they do not know the facts. they re acting -- the less you know, the less you have to do. i do not subscribe to that. >> should they not pay dividends at all? some of their first responsibility is to the families in the region who of lost their jobs, other businesses, their livelihood. if you are a fisherman or a shrimper, may and june are your big months in the gulf. under the oil pollution act of 1990 -- if you expect me to read it to you -- i can. you probably want to read it yourself. they have responsibility to pay these people. they have to do it in a timely fashion. again, there is a

caller: why isn't halliburton and being involved? they built a shot off the owl that did not work. guest: i think that they will be. -- shut-off valve that did not work. bp is the responsible party here. i think what will happen, over time, it is that there will be a lot of litigation. the guild, responsibility will be divided. insurance payments will come into play. but you are right. all of these companies have some responsibility in what happened in this disaster. host: trenton, florida. wanda, republican line. guest: don't you realize the government is responsible for this? you have put the land off of limits, shallow water off limits for drilling. you are forcing the oil to come from deep water but we need oil. why not open up where we can drill safely instead of impacting us here? guest: thank you. there is a lot of shallow water drilling going on. folks across the country need to realize this is a dwindling resources. we will not be able to rely in the long term on the oil drilling. domestic or foreign. we have to make a transition to a clean energy economy. i would be very

and no matter how much we may legitimately be, transocean, halliburton responsible? we may need the federal response from taxpayers? >> the responsible parties of the well will pay that amount. we have in sending legislation to improve a number of the regulatory structures are run the relationship between oil and the government, one of the things that we have s the lifting of the economic liability cap to an unlimited level that we feel comfortable, given the enormity of this disaster that we're looking at right now. in terms -- >> in florida, parts of the mid- atlantic -- >> i did not know the degree to which the full damage assessments has been worked out to that level best on when current -- wind and current. we've been taking the flow rate figures that the group came out with last week, the understanding the flow 15,000 barrels after the riser is cut, what you can begin to do is to figure out the math and figure out the massive amount of oil but will be in the gulf and could spread. those are sobering figures and you can understand as the president said today, we

one day it was halliburton did not do the some of rights. you remember the flow of rivers. i do not know what the complete set of facts are -- the flow of rumors. you remember what the flow of resource work. we must move quickly, for example, to make -- to give comfort to the families that they will be taken care of. and we have to change the death on the high seas, which is now 90 years old. it needs revision. some of the people, whoever been traditionally -- some of whom had been traditionally republican as a matter of fact, have said that the less you know, the less you have to do. i do not subscribe to that. >> [unintelligible] >> i have said the responsibility is first to these families in the region who have lost their jobs, their businesses, their livelihood. if you are a shrimper or a fisherman, may and june are big months in the gulf. the oil pollution act of 1990 -- and if you would like to have me read it to you, i can. they have a responsibility to pay these people. they have got to do it in a timely fashion. especially the reparations that i've -- that you have

industry both at home and abroad, as well as from relevant companies -- including bp, transocean, halliburtond others. i just said in our meeting, in doing this work, they have my full support to follow the facts wherever they may lead -- without fear or favor. and i'm directing them to report back in six months with options for how we can prevent and mitigate the impact of any future spills that result from offshore drilling. as a result of this disaster, lives have been lost. businesses have been decimated. communities that had already known great hardship now face the specter of sudden and painful economic dislocations. untold damage is being done to the environment -- damage that could last for decades. we owe all those who've been harmed, as well as future generations, a full and vigorous accounting of the events that led to what has now become the worst oil spill in u.s. history. only then can we be assured that deepwater drilling can take place safely. only then can we accept further development of these resources as we transition to a clean energy economy. only then can we be confiden

especially halliburton -- after all the evidence that cost the taxpayer hundreds of billions of dollarsaq, there it was. the relief wells are being built. they will do a better job of cementing a while after that damage was done. this is what normally happens in the third world banana republics, where crony corruption are not a disqualification. so it is clear that hope is not enough. what we need is hope 2.0. that is taking matters into your own hands. if the government is not going to shrink the big banks and the taxpayer will remain on the hook, we can shrink them. we can take our money out of the big banks and put it into credit unions and community banks. it has been happening. [applause] 2 million people have moved their money. in this year alone, $5 billion has been moved from the big banks. so, if you are running a union or if you know people who run it unions, have them move their money. if you run a state, city, or county, have them move their money. they will understand that. that is how we are going to change the world one action at a time. so, let me just wrap things up, be

. >> i forwarded you my correspondence from kbr, the spinoff company from halliburton that won a bidin a competitive contract and obtained an apparent no bid contract. can you address that? >> it appeared as if the contract was retained after a competitive bidding process, which i think is consistent with everyone's viewpoint. i don't know don'tdod as anything else to offer on that. glaxo you do not see is contradicting the president's statement? >> i do not. >> can you break down $59 million for us in a way that we can extrapolate the rate at which the government is spending money and billing bp? >> do you know the sum total of the costs incurred this far? >> give me one second. [laughter] >> we heard the president say over and over around the country in speeches where he decries the cult of washington business as usual. your defense is essentially that this is washington, business as usual. does that undercut his larger argument? >> the ethics laws that we have that our administration runs by, the transparency of allow you to understand who comes into this white house, today meet w

buone of t things that struck me when we had the principals from bp, halliburton and transocean here before this committee was their response when i asked them what they were doing to address research on deepwater spills and cleanup and the answer from three was zero. they are committing no resources to doing anything about how deal wit these kinds of situations in the future. and as i'm sure you all know, ri we're spending about 50 million a year as the federal government to fund r&d for exploration and production of oil and gas and alter deep waters but we're not spending nearly that amount to address cleanup and containment and what happens when we get into the kind o that we're in right now. we're fortunate at the univerty of new hampshire to have the coastal response research center which is one of the premiere centers in the country that's looking at these issues and in talking to their director, dr. nancy kinner, one of the points she made to me is that rht now what we really lack is any funding either in the industry or from the federal government to address this kind of rese

and from experts in the oil and gas industry both at home and abroad, including bp, transocean, halliburton, and others. in doing this work, they have my full support to follow the facts wherever they may lead without fear or favor. i directing them -- i am directing them to report back in six months with options for how we can prevent and mitigate the impact of any future spills that result from offshore drilling. as a result of this disaster, lives have been lost. businesses have been decimated. communities that have already known great hardship now face the specter of sudden and painful economic dislocations. untold damage is deep -- being done to the environment that last for decades. we all off -- we owe all those who have been haamed as well as future generations all full and vigorous accounting of the events that led to what has now become the worst oil spill in u.s. history. only then can we be assured that deepwater drilling can take place safely. only then can we accept further development of these resources as we transition to a clean energy economy. olly then can we be confident

halliburton pays for an ad endorsing a politician. shouldn't the voters know that not only the company paying for the ads but also that it is based in houston, texas? people have a right to know if people or companies outside their state are trying to influence their elections. my amendment, mr. speaker, is a commonsense addition that both republicans and democrats should support. whether living in bristol, pennsylvania, or bristol, tennessee, people should know who is trying to impact their vote, and this amendment is very simple. it enhances the ad disclaimers by including the location of the funder. specifically, this amendment requires that the city and the state of the funder's residence or principle place of living should be included. and the top funder's list will appear on screen at the end of the ad under the bill. the simple addition gives people valuable information about the people and organizations funding the ads they are seeing and hearing. by knowing where the money is coming from, people have a better understanding of

thing i wanted to ask -- the overview by correspondence -- correspondents from kdr, a spinoff from halliburton, they wanted to retain a competitive contract. >> it appeared as if the contract was simply, as you said, retained after a competitive bidding process, which i think is consistent with everyone to view point. i do not know if the dot has anything to offer on that. >> you do not see it as contradicting the president's statement? >> i do not. >> a factual question. 59 million. can you break that down -- is there a way to extrapolate the rate at which the government is spending money that they will be billing bp for? >> i left one sheet on my desk. give me one second. >> what is the sum total spent so far, up to this point? >> give me one second. >> please come to the front. [laughter] >> yes. that is a big step. >> robert, we have heard the president say over and over that washington is business as usual, the culture. your defense of the romanov situation, if i understand, it is it is business as usual. does that under -- is that it is business as usual. does that undercut what he presi

that includes bp, trans ocean, halliburton, and others.is work, they have my full support to follow the facts wherever they may lead. they will have no fear or favor. i'm directing them to report back in six months with options on how we can prevent and mitigate the impact of any future oil spill that results from offshore drilling. as a result of this disaster, lives have been lost. businesses have been decimated, communities that had known great hardship already now face the specter of sudden and painful economic dislocation. the untold damage is being done to the environment. this is damage that could last for decades. we owe all those who have been armed as well as future generations a full and vigorous accounting of the events that led to what has now become the worst oil spill in u.s. history. only then can we be assured that deepwater drilling can take place safely. only then can we accept for the development of these resources as we transition to a clean energy economy. only then can we be confident we have done what is necessary t

but one of things that struck me when we had the principals from bp, halliburton and transocean here this committee was their response when i asked them what they were doing to addressesearch on deepwater spills and cleanup and the answer from three was zero. they are committing no resources to doi anything about how deal with these kinds of situations in the future. and as i'm sure you all know, righe're spending about 50 million a year ashe federal government to fund r&d for exploration and production of oil and gas and alter deep waters but we're not spendin nearly that amount to address cleanup and containment and what happens when we get into the kind o that we're in right now. we're fortunate at the university of new hampshire to have the coastal response research center which is one of the premiere centers in the country that's looking at these issues and in talking to their director, dr. nancy kinner, one of the points she made to me is that right now what we really lack is any funding either in the industry or from the federal government to address this kind of research, so

. -- many corporations given more buses including halliburton.applause] after they've been defrauded the american ttxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in iraq, they were cementing the well in the gulf. the relief wells being built now? this is really what happens in a third-world republics with incompetence and corruption. it is clear that hope is not enough. what we need is help -- hope 2.0. we need to take matters into our own hands. the government is not going to shrink the big banks. the taxpayers are going to remain on the hook. we can take our money out of the big banks and put them into community banks and credit unions. it has been happening. [applause] 2 million people have moved their money in this year alone. $5 billion had been moved from the big banks. if you are running a union or you know people who run them, have them move their money. if you have an account or a cd, move your money. they understand that. that is how we will change the world, what action at a time. -- one action at a time. and lee me wrap things up here. i su

one day it was, halliburton did not do the cement right. you remember, there was finger- pointing. that is what the hearings were about. some of them have taken place on location down there, on site. some have taken place here. but we have a responsibility for oversight. we must move quickly to, for example, give comfort to the families that they will be taken care of when we changed the spill act from the "death on the high seas," which is now 90 years old. some people, traditionally republican as a matter of fact, do not want to know the facts, because then you might have to act upon them. the less you know, the less you have to do. i do not subscribe to that. i have said that the responsibility right now is to the families in the region who have lost their jobs, their businesses, their livelihood. if you are a shrimper or a fisherman, may and june are your big month in the gulf. under the oil pollution act of 1990 -- and if you would like me to read it to you, i can -- they have a responsibility to pay these people in a timely fashion. we have an expression in appropriations tha

monday, halliburton said they did not do a cement right. i do not know the complete information. the hearings are about. some have taken place. some have taken place on location down there, on site. some have been here. we have a responsibility of oversight. we must move quickly. we do want to give comfort to the families that they will be taking care of. -- taken care of. it is very important to act. we cannot act without the facts. some people have been traditionally republican. they do not know the facts. they are acting -- the less you know, the less you have to do. i do not subscribe to that. >> should they not pay dividends at all? some of their first responsibility is to the families in the region who of lost their jobs, other businesses, their livelihood. if you are a fisherman or a shrimper, may and june are your big months in the gulf. under the oil pollution act of 1990 -- if you expect me to read it to you -- i can. you probably want to read it yyurself. they have reeponsibility to pay these people. they have to do it in a timely fashion. again, there is an expression