Ed Markey

Those who are guilty, the CEOs of these companies, they are not here.

This is the greatest crime in the history of America against the environment.

The rules of this Committee require that members contain their questions to the subject matter of the hearing.

Is it that you are the IG? Is it the Klamath River Basin hydro project unrelated to this hearing?

This woman should not be here today.

President Obama secured $20 billion from BP to aid the Gulf and its people.

But we are not going to hear about the spill. We are not going to hear about the damage. We are not going to hear about BP or Halliburton or Transocean.

And how much of a distraction is this investigation that this Committee is trying to conduct thus far, with no avail at all, no evidence at all?

The Gulf had to be protected. That is what President Obama did to minimize the economic harm to the region from the spill.

These rigs did not leave. These rigs kept their employees.

The Majority has claimed that the economic impacts of the 6-month moratorium were worse than the economic impacts of the spill itself.

It's bad enough that the Republican House has not passed a single piece of legislation to improve the safety of offshore drilling.

The Majority's problem is with the facts. The facts don't show what the Majority wants them to show.

Last week, Republicans passed two bills that would put the American people at greater risk of another devastating oil spill.

We should be thanking today's witnesses for helping to highlight important safety reforms at the Interior Department and prevent another catastrophic spill from ever happening again.

We should find out who did it. We should have them sitting here under oath, the CEOs of each of those companies.

The core function of IGs is to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of Department programs, and to uncover fraud, waste, and abuse.

This is what Secretary Salazar and others in the Administration were trying to stop.

Instead, the Majority is wasting the Committee's time on this trivial and baseless investigation of an investigation.

It is bad enough that the Republican House has not passed a single piece of legislation to improve the safety of offshore drilling.

I am giving my remarks today while playing the BP Spill Cam. I am doing this not because I like watching millions of barrels of oil gush into America's waters and pollute our shores, but rather to help my Republican colleagues remember the…

Would the Chair be able to give a recapitulation of the time remaining? The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Massachusetts has 2 minutes and 15 seconds remaining.

I demand a recorded vote. The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Massachusetts will be postponed. Amendment No. 6 Offered by Mr. Holt The Acting CHAIR. It is…

May I ask the Chair to recapitulate the exact time that the majority and minority still have remaining for this debate? The Acting CHAIR. There are 1\1/2\ minutes for the gentleman from Massachusetts, and there are 2\1/2\ minutes for the…

I demand a recorded vote. The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Massachusetts will be postponed. Amendment No. 5 Offered by Mr. Markey The Acting CHAIR. It…