Paul Tonko: “Representative Garamendi, thank you for bringing us together in this very thoughtful way. It's great to join you and…”

“Representative Garamendi, thank you for bringing us together in this very thoughtful way. It's great to join you and Representative Chu and others who will be participating in this hour of dialogue where we really look in a very laser-sharp, focused way at this very tragic occurrence in the Gulf. Obviously, I think it's important to recognize the commitment made by the President and his administration to make certain that we do everything we can possible to make certain that we stay on this case of cleanup and capping. Certainly, shutting off that leak of that oil well is incredibly important and the cleanup in that Gulf area that impacts the Gulf States is absolutely essential. And to have the President recognize that we have deployed some 30,000 workers that will be in the midst of that activity, helping, is important; to know that over 5,000 vessels have been solicited and that our National Guard numbers--over 17,500 forces--out there making a difference is important. But let's really look at the some of the situation here.”