Lois Capps: “The truth is that the commission is not designed to be technical in nature. It is more oriented to understanding the…”

“The truth is that the commission is not designed to be technical in nature. It is more oriented to understanding the regulatory and organizational framework, which clearly has a major bearing on the incident. The commission is going to consult the very best minds and subject matter experts as they do their work. The commission members bring expertise in a range of relevant fields, from oil drilling to engineering to environmental science. The appointment of the commission is another step from the Obama administration to hold the oil industry accountable by ensuring that independent experts review the facts of the spill and recommend necessary environmental and safety precautions to address this disaster and to prevent future disasters. At the request of co-chair William Riley, there is a 66-member expert panel led by Robert Bea that will serve as a consultant to the commission. These technical experts are critical to sorting through all of the information that's presented, and the commission is required to draw on the technical analysis that the National Association of Engineering is currently performing. I just want to add that Congress is also providing oversight on efforts to contain the spill and to mitigate the devastation.”