or is it time frankly to that ceo to consider to submit his says rig nation? i thank you and yield back. >> thank you. mr. greene for an opening statement, please. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. hayward, i appreciate your testimony or being here this morning. and most people on this commite know i'm a big supporter of outer contineal shelf drilling and domestic energy production. and i understand from your testimony in our other hearings we've held in meetings with the administration that efforts to cap the well are going as expeditiously as possible however like many of my colleagues here, i'm frustrated that did it's been almost two months and we still have thousands of barrels of crude oil gushing in the gulf of mexico. i'm frustrated by the threat of disaster impacts our wildlife and coast line. i'm frustrated that one well out of thousands of wells is threatening my constituents' lively hood and most communities on gulf coast. literally from alabama back to brownsville, texas. this disaster has caused the oil and gas industry to shut down even if the mor

or is it time frankly to that ceo to consider to submit his says rig nation? i thank you and yield back. >> thank you. mr. greene for an opening statement, please. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. hayward, i appreciate your testimony or being here this morning. and most people on this committee know i'm a big supporter of outer continental shelf drilling and domestic energy production. and i understand from your testimony in our other hearings we've held in meetings with the administration that efforts to cap the well are going as expeditiously as possible however like many of my colleagues here, i'm frustrated that did it's been almost two months and we still have thousands of barrels of crude oil gushing in the gulf of mexico. i'm frustrated by the threat of disaster impacts our wildlife and coast line. i'm frustrated that one well out of thousands of wells is threatening my constituents' lively hood and most communities on gulf coast. literally from alabama back to brownsville, texas. this disaster has caused the oil and gas industry to shut down even if the

or is it time frankly to that ceo to consider to submit his says rig nation? i thank you and yield back. >> thank you. mr. greene for an opening statement, please. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. hayward, i appreciate your testimony or being here this morning. and most people on this committee know i'm a big supporter of outer continental shelf drilling and domestic energy production. and i understand from your testimony in our other hearings we've held in meetings with the administration that efforts to cap the well are going as expeditiously as possible however like many of my colleagues here, i'm frustrated that did it's been almost two months and we still have thousands of barrels of crude oil gushing in the gulf of mexico. i'm frustrated by the threat of dister impacts our wildlife and coast line. i'm frustrated that one well out of thousands of wells is threatening my constituents' lively hood and most communities on gulf coast. literally from alabama back to brownsville, texas. this disaster has caused the oil and gas industry to shut down even if the m

national seccrity. the cleanup has been too slow, indecisive.w, and too%- we want answers and we want them all. we have to worr to ensure that disasters like this never happen again. when that rig exploded and millions of gallons leaked into the gulf of mexico, our economy and our national security i am aware that each witness today was given a lengthy set of questions to answer in advance. many relate to the problem at hand. questions about rig safety, about workplace scenarros, and other rig explosion, and questions about chemical disbursement. . >> what steps do you believe that the government and private industry should take to reduce climate changed? would you support a cap on fossil fuels used to create transportation fuel tax frankly, i would prefer to bring up the cap and trade bill again on the house floor, because i would prefer that it fell, rather thaa the past by the seven of the margin that it did last summer -- seven a vote margin that it did last summerr but that is not what we are here to discuss. we are here to discuss what each of the witnesses think what -- think went wrong on the deepwater horizon rig. let us not forget what is at stake, jobs, the environme

national tragedy. you referred to pushing the pause button. there are about three dozen rig s that could lead to costly delays of projects and endanger jobs that would be there for folks in the gulf. i think the interior department's may 27 report highlights the importance of offshore oil and gas production. it said that the ocs oil approximate gas industry provides high paying jobs and drilling and production activities. estimated 150,000 jobs. the -- i am wondering if in anyway you are looking at our giving consideraon to lifting the moratorium, pushing the pause button soon er. >> senator, the importance of my mind as well. what we want to assure is that as we move forward with programs that they are going to be safe and that this cirmstance that we are facg with the deep water horizon never happens again. but right now we have multiple inveigations that will culminate through the president's commission. and i think it would be unwise for us to move forward with deep water drilling until we have those recommendations that are in front of us that we can then implement. >>

that is why, just after the rig sank, i assembled a team of our nation's best scientists to tackle this challenge -- a team led by dr. stephen chu, a nobel-prize-winning physicist and our secretary of energy. scientists, experts from academia and other oil companies have provided ideas and advice. as a result of these efforts, we have directed bp to mobilize additional equipment and technology. in the coming weeks and days, these efforts should capture 90% of the oil leaking out of the well. this is until the company finishes drilling a relief well that is expected to stop the leak completely. already, this is the worst environmental disaster america has ever faced. unlike a hurricane, it is not a single event that does its damage in a matter of minutes or days. the millions of gallons of oil that have spilled into the gulf of mexico are more like an epidemic, one that we will be fighting for months and even years. bbt make no mistake. we will fight this spill with everything we have got for as long as it takes. we will make bp pay for the damage their company has caused. and we will do

national security posture is weekend. i am aware that each witness was given of lengthy list of questions in advance of the hearing. questions about rig safety, and questions about chemical dispersants. legitimate and constructive questions that will help us forge a solution-oriented policy. i am disheartened to learned that a few of the questions have nothing to do the disaster -- with the disaster. it is only to push an agenda. some of those questions are -- how much is your company inveesing in the deployment of renewable, alternative energy? what steps do you believe the u.s. government should take to reduce the threat posed by climate change? do you support in economy-wide cap on greenhouse emissions? would your company be able to pass the costs of purchasing emission allowances to its customers? frankly, i would prefer to bring up the cap and trade bill again on the house floor, because i am convinced that this year it wouud fail rather than pass with the seven vote margin in it did last summer. but that is not the issue at hand. instead of taking time to talk about cap and tax or cat and trade, let's figure out how to cap the w

national tragedy. you referred to pushing the pause button. there are about three dozen rig s that could lead to costly delays of projectand endanger jobs that would be there for folks in the gulf. i think the interior department's may 27 report highlights the importance of offshore oil and gasproduction. it said that the ocs oil approximate gas industry provides high paying jobs and drilling and production activities. estimated 150,000 jobs. the -- i am wondering if in anyway you are looking at our giving consideration to lifting the moratorium, pushing the pause buttonoon er. >> senator, the importance of my mind as well. what weant to assure is that as we move forward with programs that they are going to be safe and that this circumstance that we are facing with the deep war horizon never happens again. but right now we have multiple investigations that will culminate through the president's commission. and i think it would be unwise for us to move forward with deep water drilling until we have those recommendations that are in front of us that we can then implement. >> j

extent of these liabilities or any materials is allocated to the rig are understood, transocean will continue our cooperation with the national pollution fund center to fill in the opiate obligations applicable to our operation. -- the opa obligations applicable to our operation. we will help remedy any impacts by the diesel release from the rig. that is not been detected. however we will continue to work to verify this as well as to determine whether or not there is any diesel fuel can -- still contained in the rigs tanks on the bottom of the ocean. additionally, as the national research assessment has been begun, is too early to ascertain if our companies responsibility in that context. as that process advances, we will cooperate and we stand ready to fill any potential obligations that may be found to originate from our duty. regardless, transocean will continue to lend our expertise to the spill containment and relief well drilling effort currently underway. the foundation of our company strength has always been the people who work at transocean and the communities where we live and operate. our commitment to both has bee

rigs operating in the u.s. right now. you know? so, it is not the there are not safety precautions in place, they are just not followed. thirdly, the 17,000 national guard troops are not active. he is more concerned about claims and not having unemployment than he is about fenian up. -- cleaning it up. host: here is some history from "the new york times" on oval office president -- presidential address history. "is only underscores the profound impact on his presidency. that at this point in his present -- at this point in previous presidencies his four predecessors had already address from the oval office. "the wall street journal" has this headline on the commission, "there is a reoccurring pattern here. the former administrator of the environmental protection agency says that organizations model on institutions for nuclear power operation would not be a substitute for stronger federal oversight of could create the safety culture needed in offshore drilling." giving you an idea of what the commission might be looking out last phone call, democratic line. caller: it is amazing to me how we have so much of this particular president. these atrociti

rigs operate as quickly and safely as we can. it is not just louisiana jobs. the entire nation depends on this energy propose duction. even as we move to a cleaner, greener, energy future. we have to revamp minerals management. i tell you there is a lot more that needs to be done. the president's call for gulf coast restoration was music to our ears. i mean james has been ape great voice, but there have been many organizations, america's wetlands. restore, retreat, and we have got plans, larry, i have been on your show before, talking about this, we have to win this battle for gulf coast restoration. and the revenue-sharing, or direct revenues would be helpful. >> larry: thank you all very much. senator mary landrieu, james carville, sammy kershaw, we'll have them all back again you can count on it. you can count on t. boone pickens joining us next. he'll tell us what he thought of the obama address, what he would do if he was in charge. he has been right about this all along. stick around. to the seekers of things which are one of a kind. the authentic, the rare, the hard to define. to those who'd climb mountains or

americans were going to lose their jobs that those rigs in the gulf would most likely take their -- go overseas and start developing oil in foreign nations and they're not coming back any time soon. it's a minimum from what i've heard from people in my district, minimum of five years before those rigs will consider coming back because they've paid all that money to go over there. they'll sit there, make money, decrease our national reserve here's in america, increase our dependence on foreign oil. again, judge, leaders lead. what has the administration done? well, you know, as you talked about earlier, governor jindal asked for some sand. about 24 miles of sand to place in between some of the marsh lands that were going to be impacted by the oil spill. took our government three weeks, three weeks to i a uff -- approve that why? why? well we had to do some study, environmental protection agency has to -- had to look and make sure if you put the sand in front of the werm, you weren't going to hurt the berms. you're going to hurt the wildlife and the berms if the oil gets in there. let's deal with that problem instead of the sure problem. a

our constitution embraces public discussion of matters that are important to the nation's future and it respects the rig of individuals to support those conversations without being exposed to unnecessary risks of arrests, embarrassment." own forms that promote speech, rather than limit it, and apply even-handedly rather than selectively will bring positive change to our elections. because the disclose act misses both of those targets, the aclu opposes its passage and urges a no vote on h.r. 5175. i made a mistake earlier when i referred to the amount of time we are allowed to debate the naming of post offices in this ngress. as a matter f fact, 41 hours have been granted by the rules committee or under suspension under our rules to the debate on the naming of post offices, but we could only give one hour to this debate. ironic, isn't it, that they talk about this being the disclose act. the guts of the bill were not disclosed to those of us on the committee. i even asked if i could see a copy. in fact, i asked a member of this house who had received a copy, and he was toll that he was prohibited from sh

these liabilities or any material or substances allocated to the rig are understood, transocean will continue our cooperation with the national pollution funds center to fill any obligations connected to our operation and to process any relevant claims. to support this effort, we have conducted sampling to determine the potential presence and any potential impact that may have been caused by diesel released from the rig. at this time, the presence of these so released from the rig has not been detected. however we will continue to work to verify this as well as to determine whether or not there is any diesel fuel contained in the tanks on the bottom of the ocean. additionally, as the national resource damage assessment has barely begun, it is too early to determine our responsibility in that process. we will cooperate and stand ready to fill any potential obligations that may be found to originate from our duty o ourpa. regardless, transocean will continue to lend our expert taste of those spill containment and relief efforts currently under way. the foundation of our company has always been the people who work at transocean.

the fact is that there are people employed across the nation the flight to the gulf to work on these rigsthat fly to the gulf twork on these rigs. that is because there is good money to be made. and with a six month moratorium d all of tse people trying exist on welfare checks. is not what they want. i was told by the coast guard -- again, i have been told, i don' know. but that the skimming has been delayed by the roughness of the seas, nothe ships. host: next call om indiana. caller: i want to talk about poible to clean up the oil and are only using certain things. i wonder about the new technologies that we are not usi, even though so many are saying they are the right thing toouse. guest: in 2003, there was a report put out called "oil and the c." by the research -- national research council. in doubt, they collaborate to at the best way -- in that, collabora to get the be way to handle oil in the ocean. the report indicated that this not happen, bu nevertheless, it seemed reasonable. if we' going to doe if there is a spill.hat could is it better to disperse it at subsurface, olet it

national issue. but also we have thousands and thousands of good americans who are working on those rigs every day whosere at risk and need to be assures that the production that's occurring is safely done. thank you for allowing me to have these remarks. thank you, chairman leahy, for holding the hearing and inviting me to co-chair it. like you i believe congress must do whatever it can to prevent another family have having to hear that their loved one has perished on an oil rig. congress must also take every available measure to avoid the environmental destruction that we're seeing unfold day after day after the spill continues. gordon jones and ten other men died. the gulf has been devastated. something has to change. how did it come to this? we already know that bp, transocean 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 oil res vary among methane hydrate deposits that are highly dangerous when they get inside the drill column. they were irresponsible. the result w

national identity. hon. members will remember that, in 1998, the also rig in the north sea exploded with 167 fatalities. following that disaster, our own regulatory regime was significantly tightened and we split the functions of licensing and health and safety in the u.k. the u.s. has announced that, in the future, these functions will be held by a separate organization. we hope that we have some experience in operating such a system. my department and the health and safety executive have been discussing this with the u.s. counterparts. it is my responsibility to make sure that the oil industry remains with the highest possible standards. i have thursday his review undertaking. the industry's record in the northern sea is a dish -- is strong. but with the beginning oo exploration in deeper waters, we must be vigilant. initial steps are already on the way, including doubling annual inspections from decks to drilling rigs. we are building on the work already begun by the newly formed oil spillage and response advisory group. i will also ensure that lessons relevant regulators and operating companies. mr.

national issue. but also we have thousands and thousands of good americans who are working on those rigs every day whose lives are at risk and need to be assured that the production that's occurring is safely done. thank you for allowing me to have these remarks. >> thank you, chairman leahy, for holding this hearing and thank you for inviting me to co-chair it. like you, i believe congress must do whatever they can to prevent another family having to hear their loved one perished on an oil rig. congress must also do everything possible to prevent the environmental destruction we see unfolding day after day. gordon jones and 10 other men died. the gulf has been devastated. something has to change. how did it come to this? 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 a

the fact is that there are people employed across the nation the flight to the gulf to work on these rigshe gulf to work on these rigs. that is because there is good money to be made. and with a six month moratorium and all of these people trying to exist on welfare checks. that is not what they want. i was told by the coast guard -- again, i have been told, i don't know. but that the skimming has been delayed by the roughness of the seas, not the ships. host: next call from indiana. caller: i want to talk about possible to clean up the oil and how we are only using certain things. i wonder about the new technologies that we are not using, even though so many people are saying they are the right thing toouse. guest: in 2003, there was a report put out called "oil and the c." by the research -- national research council. in doubt, they collaborate to look at the best way -- in that, they collaborate to get the best way to handle oil in the ocean. the report indicated that this could not happen, but nevertheless, it seemed reasonable. if we're going to do deep happen if there is a spill.uld

rigs shut down, they start moving to other areas of the world. we lose this production and we lose these jobs. it's at a critical time for louisiana and for our nation. we can't afford to do this. >> ifill: kiernan, what's to say that a temporary moratorium does not become a perm net one? >> well, it may become a permanent one, but we as a nation have to go through a process of rationally figuring out what is safe, what risks are we willing to take? there will be an answer at the end of that. to simply say let's keep doing the risk while we study it simply doesn't make sense. to ignore the tens of thousands of people that lost their jobs this month due to b.p.'s oil spill, the billions of dollars that have been lost this month due to this spill, the tax payer money, small business money, and say we're going to ignore all that. we're going to put all those people at risk because the only thing we care about is oil jobs, that is bad public policy. it's just unfair. >> ifill: a chance to response. >> no one is talking about putting anybody at risk at all in these. we're talking about how to move forward, how to guarantee safety as we move forward. all

national identity. hon. members willemember that, in 1998, the also rig in the north sea exploded with 167 fatalities. following that disaster, our own regulatory regime was significantly tightened and we split the fctions of licensing and health and safety in the u.k. the u.s. has announced that, in the fute, tseunctions will be held by a separate organization. we hope that we have some experience in operating such a system. my department and the health and safety executive he been discussing thisith the u.s. counterparts its my responsibility to make sure that the oil industry remains with the highest possible standards. i have thursday his review undertaking. the industry's record in the northern sea is a dish -- is strong. but with the beginning oo exploration in deeper waters, we must be vigilant. initial steps are already on the wa inclung doubling annual inspections from decks to drilling rigs. we are building on the work already begun by the newly formed oil spillage d response adsory group. i will also ensure thatessons relevant regators and erating companies. mr. speaker, iow turn to the pos

rig exploded. but especially two months later when everybody knows how important this is, how much national significance it has, not only for the 11 lives lost, for the environmental damage, but now for the economic and energy security issues that are being raised. you would think that this would be the number one priority of this president, and he would be focusing all of his resources. and when our local leaders have ideas like our local leaders have had ideas, then the federal government is right there working with them saying, how do we get this done today instead of three weeks gone by fighting with the federal government to get approval for things that should have been approved on day one if this was the top focus. and then whether the federal government is coming up with ideas. you know, i watched the movie "apollo 13" and it's an inspiring movie. it's a movie you watch if you want to get your juices boiling and you see what american ingenuity was all about. there was a case where the american spirit was alive and well and in those nasa folks %% sat in that rom and said we're not -- road and said

national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> you are looking at the deepwater horizzn explosion site. rigslling two relief wells. and a ship is burning of natural gas from the leak. bp hopes the relief wells will probably cut off the explosion well by august. >> thursday, the bp ceo is scheduled to testify on capitol hill. he will be questioned by members of the house subcommittee on their role in the gulf coast oil spill. that is like it 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span3 and c-span radio. to watch the latest briefings in congressional hearings or our live bp feed of the oil spill, span.org.g onto c- >> mr. gorbachev tared down this wall. >> 23 years ago, president reagan spoke those words in berlin. watch the entire speech today on american history tv on c-span3. >> coming up, a couple of programs on health care legislation. president obama and answers questions from seniors during a town hall meeting. then mitch daniels will speak on his state's health-care reform efforts. president obama answered seniors questions about the recent past health-care law, explaining provisions that deal with m

on all offshore rigs, the m is exploiting this disaster to aance this disastrous cap and trade energy policy, which won't stop the well from leaking but rather will only serve as a national tax on -- crippling our economy and making the unemployment lines longer. i believe congress should work towards safety inspections on all offshore wells. a ban on offshore drilling will only put americans out of work. but it will send a -- it will send energy and gas prices through the roof and increase our reliance on foreign, imported oil. we still have work to do to uncover exactly what went wrong and mr. questions remain on the ongoing efforts to plug is leak. this should not be an excuse to -- as we will need more oil and natural gas to meet the crucial needs of our nation, and i yid back the balance of my time. >> i would like to hear from the chairman emeritus of the energy committee, mr. dingle for five minutes, please, sir. >> chairman, i comnd you for holding this important hearing today. we sit here on day 59 of the worst environmental disaster in the history of this country. 11 people are dead, the already fragile economy of an entire region is in real danger of shatterin

national parks. you are neanderthal. you probably still believe the world is flat. the guy who mention from texas who worked on an oil rig, i am saying over long, obama should have tapped nasa. . guest: i have to say, and this is never something that makes me popular but i'm afraid it is reality, we can't stop using oil any tile soon. if you look at the scale of energy consumption in this country and around the world and look at the share that oil has in conjunction with the shares of natural gas and coal, then look at the starting place for everything else especially renewabl renewables, you see it is a challenge that we really can't meet if we are talking about totally crea totally ceasing the assumption of oil and gas. we are mobile, industrialized, we need energy. energy makes us productive. energy sustains an enviable way of life. and much of that is hydrocarbon energy and much of that is oil. that won't change. i know there is a lot of political hope right now motivated by changing that, but we couldn't do it except at a expense we can't sustain and won't like. because everything else is much more costly than oil a

people died on the rig that night, a tragic loss of life for the family aad friends of workers lost at sea. very few imagined the depth of the impact this vent would have on our nation. from the beginning there was an apparent effort to downplay the severity of this spill. the impact of the spill would be very, very modest. those are in quotes. what we now know is that we are facing a truly unprecedented situation. millions of gallons of oil have spewed into one of the richest and most unique eek systems of the united states. as you will hear from the testimony today, hundreds of michaels of coastal wet land have been affected, some unalterably. we may never know the animal loss of lehman or the extent of the damage done to the fishing stock. what we do know that 51 days out from the beginning of this or deal, the impact of the deepwater horizon ole spill is anything but modest. to date there have been 413 oiled live birrs, 59 dead birds collected by the u.s. fish and wildlife service, 250 dead turtle, two mammals, including dolphins, that we know con cluesively had died as a result of the spill. there is a photo of dolphins -- it is kind of hard to see in the photo

rigs, which i am not proposing, would have only a small impact. the bottom line is that we get most of our oil from foreign countries. particularly canada, mexico, and saudi arabia. it is important for nationalecurity to dramatically reduce the amount of oil that we use. reducing the amount that we get from those countries and from the deep waters off the coast. host: brooklyn, new york. caller: you briefly touched upon criminal charges being brought up against the peak. did they commit these felonies in furtherance of getting these wells up and running, resulting in the deaths of? if so, they should be charged with felony murder on top of that. guest: well, i do think that there should be a full investigation from a national bipartisan commission that the president has appointed. yesterday the president said that they would follow the evidence regardless of who was involved. and if that meant that bp and trans ocean, or halliburton, if they violated the law and is -- and are responsible for this that, they need to be held, but -- responsible for the deaths, they need to be held accountable. host: what will make this one different? guest: to my knowledge there has never been an investigation

nation's economy which may be greater than that of the oil spill, end quote. they specifically said that the moratorium should not be blanketed but targeted to those rigs at risk. i speak as someone from louisiana. we have over 150,000 jobs at stake here. these are jobs in the energy production field, fishery, wetlands and our ecosystem. at stake is not only these job bus the ability of our country to provide the energy we need to power our vehicles, our businesses, to provide jobs in a sense to make our -- to keep our economy going this spill is a disaster for the gulf coast, especially for my state. the citizens have had their lives and livelihoods up ended by this. to get to the bottom of what happened we need people who are up to the task. we need to put science before politics for the sake of the gulf, our nation, and for those whose jobs are at risk. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana yields back the balance of his time. mr. rahall of west virginia is recognized. mr. rahall: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. holt a member of the committee on natural resources. the speaker pro tempore: mr. holt is r

national disaster. fit, i would be remiss if i didn't remember today those families who will be in washington visiting with president obama, 11 individual lost their life when the oil rig, the horizon, exploded in april. i know the president will be meeting with them, and on behalf of all members of congress, we extend our condolences for that loss of life. right now we'reealing with the results ofhat disaster, and this disaster and explosion, sinking of the rig and the uncontrolled oil spill -- fortunately, there's been some progress in that regard, but incredible amounts of o has spilled into the gulf and now endanrs the shores of at least four ofour states. in 90 we set up an oil ill liability trust fund, and tat was after the exxon valdez. that fund has in it $1.6 billion, substantiaamount of money. now, that fund was tset up to relieve anyone of responsibility if they're glect and it was not -- neglect and it was not a fund focleanup. a lot of it was intended if theat they call an orphan spill or spill where you don't know where the oil came from, polluting substan came from. within that $1.6 billion trust fund for oil spills that we created, we had an emergency f

rig construction. also appearing was a former bp contractor who alleged unsafe practices concerning the atlantis platform. this portion of the hearing is about three hours. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] [gavel pounds] >> the subcommittee on energy and minerals will now reconvene. i want to apologize to the witness of the second panel and witnesses of the third panel, because obviously, i was off by 20 minutes. it is the intention of the chair now to go through this second panel and a third panel and conclude the hearing when that takes place. members that are here will be recognized under the same terms as we hold with the previous witnesses, previous panels. the subcommittee will now come to order. we have returned from our voting recess. that is the good news appeared the bad news is i am told we will be going to vote in another 20 minutes or half an hour. [no audio] >> the oversight hearing on subcommittee of energy and mineral resources on the deepwater horizon incident will now come to order. the subject of this morning's hearing is the question is the agency within the department of the interior, min

national security. the cleanup has been too slow, way too slow and too indecisive. we want answers. we have to work to ensure that a disaster like this never happens again. when that rig exploded and its millions of gallons of oil leaked into the gulf of mexico our economy and our national security posture was weekend. i am aware that each witness was given a lengthy list of questions in advance of the hearing. questions about rig safety and questions about chemical dispersants. legitimate and constructive questions that will help us forge a solution-oriented policy. i am disheartened to learn that a few of the questions have nothing to do the disaster -- with the disaster. it is only to push an agenda. some of those questions are -- how much is your company investing in the deployment of renewable, alternative energy? what steps do you believe the u.s. government should take to reduce the threat posed by climate change? do you support an economy-wide cap on greenhouse emissions? would your company be able to pass the costs of purchasing emission allowances to its customers? frankly, i would prefer to bring up the cap and trade bill again on the house floor, because i