Jeff Merkley

It translated into retaliation against workers who reported safety problems, and that is a very different type of way to respond to safety than to actually improve safety.

The New York Times ran an article on July 12, and it has a number of statements in it based on their review of BP's record.

Those workers on that Transocean rig were raising concerns, and within BP, we expect workers to raise concerns.

How can one company account for 97 percent of the egregious and willful violations handed out by OSHA if safety is their top concern?

We have placed safety as the No. 1 priority in BP, and we have put in place actions to learn from the past and to manage risks in the future.

If you look at the incidents that occurred before Deepwater Horizon and the incidents like this that occurred afterwards, do you see a pattern of shortcuts related to safety?

What I saw were breakdowns in a culture of safety.

I found your introduction to your testimony saying, 'Safety is our top priority' to be offensive.

Do you really believe with all your heart you can tell the families of the workers who died... that you have set aside profit to do everything for safety as your top priority?

Is it possible that we will see from BP a wholesale change in its approach to safety?

Did what happened with Thunder Horse and other incidents in which a number of people died create a pattern that caused concern for you?

I again thank my colleague for her leadership. We together as a Senate need to stand with our small businesses so we can revive our communities, restore our economy and create jobs for our families. I thank the Senator again for the…

That's part of the reason that this bill is necessary.

I congratulate Senator Gillibrand for bringing this bill forward to try to create a solid framework into the future.

I think the use of the word scam is very appropriate.

I'll just note, I'll be curious to follow up, Mr. Chair, as to whether the Sanford-Brown Institute is being investigated by anybody for the type of scam or fraud we've heard testimony about today.

Oregon requires all schools that receive title IV money to enroll students only term by term, and that has resulted in a significant drop in abuse.

I understand that when in 2002 the safe harbor was extended in this fashion, some folks warned that this would lead to abuses.

Thank you, Mr. President. It is an honor to come and say we need to do right by working families in America, and we need to not do it by creating more unemployment.

Thank you both for your testimony.

I think as we seek to encourage more States to be aggressive in this area having those type of metrics will help people get their hands around it.

Indeed, the ability to continue aging in place has been a huge emphasis in Oregon.

Well, I think that safe harbor might be something we should explore if we do not feel like it is satisfactory.

If it was a coherent, single test, it might be an additional tool, making this easier for employers.

They said almost always that is going to be wrong. So start with the presumption and then run through the test.