Jim Inhofe: “First, I do not disagree with anything that was said by my very good friend from Florida. It is a devastating thing. I…”

“First, I do not disagree with anything that was said by my very good friend from Florida. It is a devastating thing. I have no love for BP. I assure you they are not any friends of this side over here. I only have to say this. If you want to shut out everyone from their exploration, it doesn't make any difference whether it is deep water or otherwise, you go ahead and do something like this. This would only help the big five or the national oil companies--that is China and Venezuela. Without a cap they would be the only ones who could explore out there. Frankly, they don't have the capacity to do the amount of exploration that is going to be necessary to run this machine called America. Right now there is a commission that is taking place. I believe they are going to be discussing all these things, including what types of caps, if any, should go on. They are the ones who are approaching this thing, considering everything. I think they should have time to do their own work.”