I will repeat it, and I concur with you. We do not know whether we're going to end up with a new gulf war syndrome.

We need to know that seafood is safe, and the American public needs to know that seafood is safe for the simple reason that we want them to continue to feel comfortable buying gulf products.

I want the American people to believe that it has scientific independence and integrity. No gag rules. No muzzling. No selectivity of the information.

We are the United States of America. There's nobody with our size and our scope.

The UK, as I understand it, banned dispersants. That gave me pause.

And then who certifies the States in terms of a level of competency to test for this?

And I presume they're scientific advisors to you.

And, again, we're not bashing anybody, but here, as I understand it, EPA had concerns about the amount of dispersants being used.

Our No. 1 concern is the safety of the American people, safety of the air they breathe, and the food they eat.

Better information is needed to determine the window of opportunity and percentage effectiveness of dispersant application for different oil types in different environmental conditions.

There's a continuum of actions here. One is an outright ban. That, I think, has to be well founded on solid research.

when Administrator Jackson asked BP to please look into the use of a different kind of dispersant, she was essentially blown off by BP.

I'm going to either ban or limit the use of dispersants, could you have the power to act unilaterally?

It's time now to really conclude the hearing, and we thank you for your generosity of time.

I believe that we must--that we're the research and the funding for research, because whatever we do, I'm going to be sure it's independent.

But we should not say no, you may not use any dispersant, because, at the time, we were risking that which we've all seen on TV, which is large amounts of oil at the surface, which got by the skimmers and got by the burners and would end…

The oil producing act won't let you find out what another country does.

We look forward to looking at that legislation and perhaps being joined as an early cosponsor with you.