[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 50 (Tuesday, March 24, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3685-S3686]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. LAUTENBERG (for himself, Mr. Rockefeller, Ms. Cantwell, 
        Mrs. Boxer, and Mr. Begich):
  S. 685. A bill to require new vessels for carrying oil fuel to have 
double hulls, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation.

[[Page S3686]]

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, this is a very significant day in 
environmental history in our world, particularly in our country. While 
the debate goes on about what corporate America has done and what they 
have not done and how we should treat them in trying to get our economy 
back on track, we have heard questions raised about corporate behavior.
  I came out of the corporate world when I came to the Senate. It seems 
to me that things were different years ago.
  Over the last few days, we have heard many in these Chambers, here 
and in the House of Representatives, call on companies to be better 
corporate citizens.
  Today I rise to point out what may be the greatest abandonment of 
corporate citizenship in our Nation's history, and that was displayed 
by the Exxon Corporation, one of the most profitable companies in 
American history. Twenty years ago this day, one of their ships ran 
aground in Alaska. Still Exxon refuses to live up to the obligations it 
obtained when that ship ran aground, and it damaged the environment 
substantially.
  It was 20 years ago today the Exxon Valdez crashed into the Bligh 
Reef in Alaska's Prince William Sound. That ship spilled 11 million 
gallons of crude oil, damaging 1,300 miles of shoreline, and ruining 
the lives of thousands of Americans.
  Now, as chairman of a subcommittee with appropriations jurisdiction 
over the Coast Guard, I was taken to Alaska by the Coast Guard and 
arrived there 3 days after the Exxon Valdez ran aground. To see the 
damage was horrific. But also during those days there, during that 
first day, I saw so many of the people who worked for the Government.
  This is a discussion we often have about Government servants and 
their obligations--and I would say, having come from the corporate 
world, there are few who are more mindful of their obligations than 
those who work for Government. That day I saw from the helicopter in 
which I was flying so many of our people committed to their 
responsibilities, dealing with the problem, brave people traveling to 
tiny islands by helicopter and small boats. Their mission was to save 
the wildlife.
  I saw many of them fairly close up taking birds, and mammals--the 
young mammals, particularly--and fish into their hands and wiping the 
oil off to try to save the lives of these victims. One by one, wherever 
they could, they were saving animal lives. It was devastating to see.
  It was obvious, as one looked at the waters of Prince William Sound, 
a beautiful place, surrounded by glaciers, that this lure, this almost 
seductive lure of color and cover that came from the oil was at the 
same time doling out poisons.
  There are many portions of Prince William Sound today that remain 
contaminated. The cannery workers, fishermen, and people whose lives 
depended on Prince William Sound are still paying a price. The local 
economy is still reeling. Think about it. So much time has passed since 
this spill that as many as 6,000 people injured by that disaster have 
already passed away. These people were never ever fully compensated for 
their loss.
  Exxon was responsible for this mess. But the company fought at every 
step to shirk its responsibilities. And ever since the disaster, Exxon 
has defaulted on its obligations as a corporate citizen and refused to 
repair whole communities and innocent lives that have been damaged.
  Instead, during all of this period, Exxon has fought tooth and nail 
to deprive the victims of proper compensation, spending as much as $400 
million to retain lawyers and keep things bottled up in court.
  Exxon took its fight all the way to the Supreme Court, and last year, 
19 years after the tragedy, the Justices confirmed that Exxon owes 
punitive damages to the victims, although they and their skillful 
hordes of lawyers succeeded in a constant effort to reduce the amount 
of compensation.
  Still, even today, 20 years later, the company continues to stonewall 
the victims by trying to avoid paying the interest that fell on these 
charges. Exxon's actions are the height of corporate irresponsibility. 
As a former CEO of a major corporation, I understand the drive to 
succeed. But there is nothing more reprehensible than a company evading 
its obligations to our country's people just to make a quick buck and 
to avoid the legitimate responsibility that is a giant factor in our 
economy and social well being. They have that responsibility.
  Exxon had record profits last year of $45 billion. Even last quarter, 
when companies across the country were suffering, this company, Exxon, 
posted a profit of nearly $8 billion in a single quarter--$8 billion.
  Now, it would have been a drop in the bucket for this corporation to 
have fully compensated the victims who were so severely hurt. All the 
money, energy, and time that Exxon has wasted should have been spent 
making local communities whole again and helping to fix the 
environmental and economic damage done to Alaska's Prince William 
Sound.
  The truth is, Exxon needs to change its ways, and today, the 20th 
anniversary of the Exxon Valdez disaster, is a perfect opportunity.
  On this anniversary, we are also reminded how dangerous transporting 
oil can be. That is why I have introduced a bill this day that will 
accelerate the use of double-hulled vessels by shippers.
  Oil spills are absolutely catastrophic to the environment and seaside 
communities and influence wide geographic areas beyond those 
communities. After examining the costs of past spills, we have written 
a bill to substantially reduce the possibilities of future spills. So I 
look forward to seeing this bill passed by this Chamber and to working 
with colleagues to make sure that disasters like the one we saw 20 
years ago this day will never happen again.
                                 ______