Steve Scalise: “I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding. I thank both of my colleagues for talking about this important issue…”

“I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding. I thank both of my colleagues for talking about this important issue because right now as we're battling what is already a human tragedy with eleven deaths, an environmental tragedy, probably the worst in the country's history, we're trying to battle to keep the oil out of our marsh and our seafood beds and the estuaries where the pelicans nest. We're also now fighting a new battle and that's an economic battle against this moratorium on all energy exploration in not only deep water but shallow water, which is going on. So what we've been trying to point out is that, in fact, if you look at the safety recommendations that were made by the President's own scientific panel right after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon, the President assembled a team of scientists, engineers, experts that he picked--we didn't pick, he picked--to come back with a 30-day safety report, report on how to improve safety on the rigs and recommendations on drilling.”