Alcee Hastings: “Before yielding to my distinguished friend, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record a March 20th report in The…”

“Before yielding to my distinguished friend, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record a March 20th report in The New York Times, byline reading ``North Slope Oil Spill Raises New Concerns Over Pipeline Maintenance;'' and equally from yesterday's Wall Street Journal, the ``EPA and the FBI Check Allegations of Improper Repair Work on Two Big Storage Tanks.'' For all my colleagues that talk about all this environmental protection, I would like for them to read these two articles. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Florida? There was no objection. [From the New York Times, Mar. 20, 2006] North Slope Oil Spill Raises New Concerns Over Pipeline Maintenance (By Felicity Barringer) Washington, Mar. 18.--An oil spill this month in Alaska, the largest ever on the North Slope, has raised new concerns among state and federal regulators about whether BP has been properly maintaining its aging network of wells, pumps and pipelines that crisscross the tundra. BP Exploration Alaska, the subsidiary of the international oil giant that operates the corroded transmission line from which more than 200,000 gallons of crude oil leaked, has been criticized and fined in several different cases, most recently in 2004 when state regulators fined the company more than $1.2 million. Now the division of the federal Department of Transportation responsible for pipeline safety is looking into the company's maintenance practices.…”