Charlie Melancon: “I rise today with a heavy heart to remember the 11 men that died on the offshore rig Deepwater Horizon. Those men and…”

“I rise today with a heavy heart to remember the 11 men that died on the offshore rig Deepwater Horizon. Those men and thousands of them like them, women included, travel out to offshore rigs every day to work hard and provide opportunities for the rest of us to make a living. As the crisis in the Gulf of Mexico continues to grow, we see shorelines, fisheries, and other economies threatened. This unprecedented event has the entire gulf coast and country watching to see how soon we can end this. I would also like to take a moment to recognize the families of those 11 people. Those men were doing what so many other men and women do in Louisiana every day. They were working to provide a better life for their families while braving difficult and sometimes dangerous conditions to provide domestic energy needed to drive our Nation and our economy. Our thoughts are with these families, and I pray that their grief is not forgotten by the rest of us.”