Ed Markey

Yes, they were not preparing for a worst case scenario. They didn't have the boom. They didn't have the skimmers. They didn't put in place the protective equipment for the health of the workers who would be out there cleaning up this mess.

And that's why we have to stay on them every single day until the well is plugged and everyone, including the people in the Gulf and the ocean, are made whole.

I guess he must have felt that it was time for him to go and to go for a nice sail on an ocean that BP has yet to despoil.

They thought a rig couldn't sink, and as a result they never had to put in place the response.

But I think it's important for the American people to know that BP has such a document because that will help us to ensure that we keep the pressure on BP and that we're also properly prepared.

We now know in retrospect that when BP in the first week was saying that the spill was only 1,000 per day that they had an internal document in the first week that said it was 1,000 to 14,000 barrels per day. They did not any -- let anyone…

If a hurricane ever hits this region with all of that water out in the Gulf, $20 billion will be just the down payment.

It's a very good first step, but that's all it is.

BP obviously does not stand for 'be prepared.' Yes, they were making it up.

They did not learn the lesson of the Exxon Valdez.

Right now, there would be no evidence to convict BP of being transparent.

In my opinion, merits the opening of a criminal investigation.

BP obviously does not stand for be prepared. Yes, they were making it up.

Well, it's probably obvious that none of the companies have actually invested in 21st century technologies that make it possible to either shut down the leak or to respond to the damage which is being done out in the ocean and to the…

I think that BP was trying to limit their liability, because they pay a fine per barrel of oil that's out there. They were lying or grossly incompetent.

I have not believed BP. I have not believed their numbers. It's why I forced them to put up the spill cam, so that experts could analyze this flow rate.

What we learned today -- and they all admitted it -- that none of them have the capacity to respond to a worst-case scenario.

Well, it's pretty obvious that none of the companies have actually invested in 21st century technologies that make it possible to either shut down the leak or to respond to the damage which is being done out in the ocean and to the…

It took lawmakers demanding this video for BP to actually release it.

I do believe that BP has been about their legal team from the first week.

This is just one more example of where BP just stands for betraying the people.

The top scientists in the United States and around the world are ready to work on helping to solve this problem.

It makes no sense at all, which is why I demanded today that BP release the high-definition video.

It took weeks of arm-twisting to get them to release the video of the leak to lawmakers.

I think initially they were actually hoping that they could shut off this leak before people were down there determining how large it was, because their liability is tied to how many barrels of oil per day go into the Gulf.