[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 86 (Wednesday, June 9, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H4302]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   BP AND NOAA NEED TO BETTER MONITOR OIL BENEATH THE OCEAN'S SURFACE

  (Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Madam Speaker, yesterday, officials admitted that a 
significant amount of oil may be spreading through the deep ocean in 
layers of highly dissolved oil. This revelation is anything but recent, 
except to BP.
  Last month, I sent a letter, along with my colleagues in the Florida 
delegation, calling on the administration to examine the amounts of oil 
suspended in the water column below the ocean surface; yet until 
yesterday, officials failed to acknowledge what many in the scientific 
community were already saying, that underwater oil plumes are possible 
and that they pose a tremendous threat.
  My congressional district is home to a variety of ecosystems--coral 
reefs, mangroves, sea grass beds, as well as countless species of fish. 
NOAA and BP must do a better job of examining the impact of crude oil 
and chemical dispersants at all depths of the ocean's surface. My 
constituents who rely on fishing, diving and tourism for their 
livelihood demand that we utilize all available resources. Get this 
right before the disaster becomes even worse.

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