Republicans in Congress Have Blocked Reforms
 
WASHINGTON (April 17, 2012) -- Nearly two years after the start of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the independent BP Spill Commission today released a report card on the actions that have been taken -- and not taken -- to implement the Commission recommendations. The report card, which notes that that Congress has not yet enacted any legislation to respond to the explosion and spill, highlights the need for passage of legislation authored by Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and other House Democrats.
 
“Nearly two years after the BP spill began, this Congress has a responsibility to take the lessons learned from the spill and turn them into laws to ensure that we never have a similar disaster again,” said Rep. Markey, who is the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee and was the leading investigative force in Congress during the BP spill. “This report card is an important reminder of the need to pass critical reforms to protect the workers, environment and economy of the Gulf that House Republicans continue to block.”
 
Rep. Markey’s legislation would implement key reforms recommended by the Commission that cannot be done through administrative action, such as increasing the liability cap, to ensure that oil companies are held fully responsible and ensuring a permanent and stable funding stream for the offshore regulators. The legislation is entitled the “Implementing the Recommendations of the BP Oil Spill Commission Act of 2011” (HR 501) and a copy of the legislation can be found HERE.
 
In addition, the report card specifically calls out Republican efforts to pass legislation that would dramatically expand offshore drilling while truncating safety and environmental review. The Commission report card says that Republican drilling bills that have passed the House “actually run contrary” to the Commission’s findings and recommendations.
 
“Republicans should stop their efforts to return us to the speed over safety mentality that led to the disaster, which the BP spill commission is now saying will make offshore drilling less safe,” said Rep. Markey.
 
The report card gives Congress a grade of “D” for what it has accomplished to date.
 
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