i thank senator whitehouse for co-chairing this meeting. i'm going to yield to senator sessions who does represent a gulf state. and then senator whitehouse and then we'll begin the hearing. >> the deep water horizon disaster is now and remains a threat to our coastal environment, our coastal economy and particularly, our thoughts and prayers remain with those who, like christopher jones, lost family members on that rig. 11 wonderful americans lost their lives. i had a long meeting with governor riley and congressman bonner friday in mobil and we -- in mobile and we talked about the problems that the nation faces and we listened to the mayors of gulf shores and orange beach and people who represent the mobile bay area and the threats that are being faced there. that's quite a bit of concern, frankly. a lot of intensity of feeling that things have not gone as well as they could and we do need to do better. we must do better. i really want to thank governor riley for his perge leadership in leading the effort to coordinate the response with r

partisan divide on the court so it's not just republican appointees acting together. >> senator whitehouse, it's a hard question you pose, because on the... on the one hand, every judge, every justice has to do what he or she thinks is right on the law. you wouldn't want the judicial process to become in any way a bargaining process or a logrolling process. >> but by definition, if the court were to reach beyond the group of five that has driven so many of these recent decisions, they would be less able to move the law as dramatically as they have. that's just obvious, is it not? >> senator, what has... i want to make it clear that i'm not agreeing to your characterizations of the current court. i think that that would be inappropriate for me to do, and... >> i understand that. >> and i'm sure that everybody up there is acting in good faith. >> reporter: but democrats' criticism of the current court was a theme that persisted. delaware's ted kaufman singled out this year's decision that wiped away limits on corporate and labor union spending in campaigns for president and congress. >> i me

. >> thank you very much, senator whitehouse.st witness is christopher jones, currently the partner at keough, cox and wilson in baton rouge, louisiana. more important than his professional background, he's the brother of gordon jones, one of the 11 rig workers who lost their lives the day of the explosion. gordon jones is survived by his wife michelle, young sons stafford maxwell. one of the sons i understand was born very shortly after the accident. is that correct? >> yes. >> mr. jones, please go aled. the floor is yours. >> chairman leahy, ranking member sessions and other members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. my name is chris jones, seated behind me is my father, keith jones. gordon is my only brother. he is survived by his wife and two sons, stafford is two and max was born three weeks ago. gordon is survived by a mother, sister, in-laws and other family members and friends who miss him very much. words cannot describe what gordon meant to this family. i appear before you as a r