On the anniversary of the BP Gulf oil spill, there’s nothing to celebrate.
Congress has failed to pass even a single law (although 150 have been introduced) and Obama’s promise for a gulf restoration plan has yet to be implemented.
Can’t Congress get anything done anymore?
Unbelievably, BP has been allowed to take its costs for the spill cleanup as a $10 billion dollar tax deduction!
That’s the entire annual budget of the EPA, now that it’s funding was just slashed in the Continuing Resolution 2011 spending bill. And it’s almost a third of all the cuts in the continuing resolution.
BP wrote off the $32.2 billion it set aside to cover clean-up costs, fines, and a $20 billion victim compensation fund (which still has only paid out about $4 billion).
And BP is making political contributions, largely to Republican leadership, to make sure they get more offshore drilling and block all attempts to lift oil spill liability caps, which still remain at a mere $75 milliion.
Meanwhile, there’s still oil on beaches and the stench still permeates the air. Hundreds of dead dolphins, turtles and fish still wash up on the coast and the people there speak of illness and joblessness.
Where’s the Ocean Policy?
Members of the House of Representatives Sustainable Energy & Environment Coalition (SEEC) have again called for congressional action to implement the recommendations of the Presidential Commission on the BP Oil Spill.
The commission’s report, released in January, urged Congress to implement changes that would ensure safer drilling operations, provide better spill response, lift the existing liability cap on oil companies and secure funding for coastal restoration efforts in the Gulf.
"The United States Congress owes it to the workers who lost their lives one year ago, the coastal communities that lost their livelihoods, and to the American people, to pass legislation that will address the systemic failures of the oil and gas drilling industry, increase worker safety and protection for U.S. coasts and lands, and hold Big Oil accountable for its spills.
"The United States does not have enough oil reserves to satisfy its demand, and even increased domestic oil production will not adequately reduce gas prices for consumers. However, by increasing vehicle fuel efficiency standards the U.S. has taken its greatest step in thirty years to reduce its oil demand, and will save consumers billions of dollars in fuel costs. SEEC supports policies to reduce America’s dependence on oil and other costly, finite fossil fuel energy resources, and that will promote a transition to a cleaner, more efficient and secure energy economy."
In February 2011 SEEC sent a letter to House Republican leaders urging them to prioritize legislative action to address the commission’s findings; to increase oversight of drilling activities, and provide stronger safety standards and better protections for America’s communities and environment. Since that time, the House Republican majority has failed to act on the report, and is instead working to pass legislation to open more coasts and lands to increased drilling, and to remove essential environmental safeguards.
Individual SEEC members have proposed legislation to strengthen the safety and environmental standards that govern offshore drilling activities, and that would hold BP and other responsible companies accountable for the costs of their oil spill. Last year, the Democratically-controlled House passed the Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources (CLEAR) Act (H.R. 3534), which SEEC helped to write and to pass, and which addressed many of the commission’s concerns. However that bill was not considered in the U.S. Senate.
Reps Jay Inslee (D-WA) and Steve Israel (D-NY) are chairs of the 48 member SEEC.
Can’t Do Attitude
After the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989, at that time the largest in US history, Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act, which required companies to prepare spill-prevention and spill-cleanup plans.
But this time? Nothing. Even worse than that, there have been 10 new deep drilling permits handed out, at least one of them to a company in which BP owns a majority share.
Instead, the Republican majority led the House Natural Resources Committee to pass three bills to accelerate offshore drilling permits and open new areas off the coasts of California, Florida, Massachusetts and North Carolina.
More unbelievably, the legislation says that if federal regulators don’t act on those permits in 30 days, those permits will automatically go into force.
Where’s this do-nothing to prevent future spills but fast forward more drilling coming from? I’m sure you can guess: it’s from the oil lobby and from Republicans paid by the oil lobby to do their bidding, in addition to their zeal for eliminating all regulations on corporations.
In 2010, the oil and gas industry spent over $146 million lobbying the feds and donated $28 million to Republican campaigns (Center for Responsive Politics).
Sign this letter to call for an end to all new drilling and to establish marine reserves instead:
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