Date: 2010-06-10
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: Texas

Mr. OBERSTAR. thank you for your leadership. Chairman CUMMINGS. as well. thank you for your leadership. The Coast Guard is poised in the gulf working overtime. waiting for this drawdown. which is a reimbursable drawdown. But we have to do something now. We have to do something for the shrimpers. the fishermen. the oystermen. the restaurants. We have to do something for the people who are bleeding and need our help. This is a BP problem. but it is an oil industry problem. We have to see them rise to the occasion. to develop a better claims system. to develop a recovery plan. But right now. the Coast Guard. as told to us in a meeting with them last week with Chairman CUMMINGS and Chairwoman BROWN. they need the money now. This is an important step. We can go back and look at the noes. but weve got to say yes today. Vote for this legislation. I also wish to thank Senator REID for introducing this very important piece of legislation in such a timely manner. Today. I rise in support of S. 3473. an amendment that would authorize advances from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund as created by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. BP is dragging its heels on the oil spill cleanup. The sooner we can get the wheels turning on the cleanup. the sooner we can make families whole again and ensure a safe environment for the Americans that had to bear the brunt of this disaster of mammoth proportions. Releasing some of the funds from the aforementioned trust will allow individuals to be able to support themselves in their Gulfbased industry. Just yesterday I testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and proposed legislation that would allow for the release of 100 million dollars from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. The sooner we address the problem. the more likely we are to prevent more extensive damage. It has been well noted that BPs efforts alone will not suffice. As members of Congress. we must do everything we can to address and resolve this crisis in the most expedient manner. and releasing these funds will allow for a more efficient response. This amendment would provide a muchneeded source of recourse and restitution for those victimized by this environmental disaster of massive proportions. caused by the April 20. 2010 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil vessel. It will also provide an avenue for accountability. which should be assigned. appropriately. to the parties responsible for imposing such suffering on the residents of the Gulf Coast area. We are all very much aware of the hardship that has been inflicted upon the people in the Gulf Coast region. The oil. gushing at a rate of at least 12.000 to 19.000 barrels a day. has now spread over 42 miles beyond the spill site. 3.300 miles beneath the surface of the ocean. In its most concentrated areas. oil plumes created by the spill are sometimes over 15 miles long and 1.500 feet thick. depths below the water. This does not even account for the immense volume of oil which is less concentrated. but still very much diluted with the water of the Gulf Coast. The immediate effects of the spill are being felt as far west as Houma. Louisiana. and as far east as the Apalachicola Bay in Florida. Not only have there been serious environmental effects. but marine wildlife has been seriously impeded by the developments. Fishermen and workers in related industries are being deprived of their very source of income and livelihood. Even further. there are health effects resulting from the disaster that are increasing in number. daily. According to a recent CNN article. there have been 71 reported cases of oil disaster related health problems ranging anywhere from headaches and coughing to more serious ailments. Additionally. the oil has reached shorelines across the coast. and is affecting beaches and their patrons. It is imperative not only that the victims and potential claimants be afforded a source of recourse for the significant interruption of their way of life. but that the remedy process be made available in a timely fashion. as the effects of the oil spill are being compounded every day. The Oil Pollution Act of 1990. adopted in response to the Exxon Valdez Alaska oil spill in 1989. governs the claims process associated with the British Petroleum disaster. According to the Act. any party liable for any threat or actual discharge of oil from a vessel or facility to navigable waters. adjoining shorelines. or the exclusive economic zone of the United States. is responsible for all cleanup costs incurred. Additionally. claimants may recover damages for injury to natural resources. loss of personal property. economic losses. and loss of subsistence use of natural resources. However. the Act caps economic damages at $75 million from the party or parties responsible for an oil spill. Seventy five million dollars is simply insufficient to compensate the victims of such a massive disaster. The law was passed in light of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. That spill was considered to be one of the largest environmental disasters in history. and involved the disgorgement of at least 10.8 million gallons of crude oil into Alaska waters. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.