Any constriction of domestic oil and gas production either onshore or offshore will only further put us in a perilous situation.

Mr. Chairman, in this instance it may or may not have, but I do think that this committee has to give some focus to the merging of some of these companies and to the extent in which they operate to make sure that they have consistent…

America must reduce its oil consumption, for national security, and yes, for environmental reasons.

Banning offshore drilling will not keep industry workers safe and it won't prevent our shores from the threat of an oil spill.

I believe that the right course is reducing our oil consumption by promoting safe and clean alternative energy while increasing our domestic production.

We need to examine closely the extent to which each of these systems failed to do what it was supposed to do.

I intend to work with Senator Murkowski, the ranking member, and other members of the committee on a bipartisan basis.

I believe it would be a terrible mistake to retreat from domestic energy production.

Transporting larger quantities of oil from far away places will increase, not decrease, our risks.

I just have some documentation about the value of the Louisiana seafood industry, which is more than $3.4 billion.

We owe a debt of gratitude to the people that work in this industry.

This oil spill could become our Nation's worst environmental disaster in decades.

the last thing we want to do is for a region that has been hammered by storms and other disasters, is to have this be another economic disaster for the people of this region.

Are the requirements, Mr. Newman, which you say you exceeded, that MMS requires for this deepwater drilling--are our requirements the highest internationally or are there other nations that require higher safety standards than what MMS is…

Revenue sharing is very important from the billions of dollars generated from this industry to make sure it is safe.

We must find out what went wrong, hold BP accountable, and on the record they said they will be accountable, under oath, for all economic damage.

We will also be looking to identify any problems or risks that might exist for operations that are ongoing.

Will BP pay? ... if you're not found to be grossly negligent, is BP prepared to pay the full extent of real economic damage?