Steven Holt: “As you heard, this appropriations bill provides several hundred million dollars to the Bureau of Ocean Energy…”

“As you heard, this appropriations bill provides several hundred million dollars to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. Sounds like a lot of money, but it is far less than what is needed for the protection of the environment and of workers for offshore oil and other activities. The Director of the bureau recently testified that these funds that are missing are needed and that their lack will have a direct and immediate impact on the ability of the agency to hire inspection and permitting personnel. It's interesting that so eager is the majority to look after the interests of the oil industry that they ruled out of order our amendment which provides one way to make up for these lost funds, this amendment that I would have offered with Mr. Markey of Massachusetts and Mrs. Capps of California had the amendment been in order. So eager are they to look after the interests of the oil industry that they actually work against the oil industry. {time} 1940 So eager are they to look after the interests of the oil industry, that they actually work against the oil industry. The irony is pretty rich here. At a time when the majority is aggressively pushing their oil, oil, oil, drill, drill, drill agenda, they are slashing the very funds that are needed by the bureau to conduct the lease sales and issue the permits and inspect the offshore drilling facilities so the industry can move ahead safely and efficiently.…”