odom. our final witness is mr. lamar mckay, the president and chairman of b.p. america. mr. mckay, please begin when you are ready. >> thank you. chairman markey, ranking member upton and members of the committee, i am chairman and president of b.p. america. before addressing the main topic of today's hearing, i would like to reiterate the profound sorrow and regret all of us at b.p. feel for the loss of life and the oil spill horizon explosion and fire. this is very prnlbole to me and b.p. i am from mississippi. i grew up in mississippi. i spent summers on the gulf coast. most of my family's in new orleans. anha

when the current chairman and president, lamar mckay took over, i met with him and he said he odom to improve the culture enough to make the office none yes. i urged him not to eliminate the office because it served a significant role in investigating employee complaints. i am more concerned now than ever about bp's safety and the role they take in assuming risk. i am concerned that the culture from tony hayward down to the chief operating officer, that there is a willingness to cut costs and take greater risks. i look forward to herring mr. hayward answer the many hard-hitting questions our committee members will ask today. i hope well hear honest, contrite and substantive answers. we are not small people, but we wish to get our lives back. for americans who live and work on the gulf of mexico, it may be years before they get their lives back. for the families who lost members on the rig. i am sure you will get your life back, and with a golden parachute back to england. we are left with the consequences of bp's reckless disregard to charne. i yield back my time and turn to mr. burge